hope is a child’s success

By JAINE TREADWELL

Features Editor

Father knows best and mama does, too.

And, had it not been for her father’s advice and her mother’s support of it, Sue Green Rachlin might be sitting behind an accountant’s desk crunching numbers, and not waking up excited about what she does.

Not that there’s anything wrong with accounting; it’s just not for everyone.

However, Rachlin thought accounting was her field until her father steered her in a different direction.

Rachlin is the daughter of the late Eddie Green and Lillian Green of Troy. She studied accounting and business administration at Troy State University.

"Sue didn’t even like to balance her checkbook," said Mrs. Green. "Her father encouraged her to go into public service. He just thought Sue was better suited for that."

However, after graduation Rachlin followed the path she had set for herself and applied for an accounting spot in a federal internship program for top graduates at Ft. Rucker.

"When she got down there all of the internships were taken, but they offered her a position in computer operations and Sue liked it from the start," Mrs. Green said.

What was almost a quirk in her career was probably the luckiest thing that ever happened to Rachlin, her mother said.

After working at Ft. Rucker, Rachlin joined the Air Force. From there she went to work for the U.S. Information Agency and then the Agriculture Department. She later became chief of the Agency Applications Services Division at the USDA’s National Information Technology Center in Fort Collins, Colo.

Today, Rachlin is the deputy chief information officer at the Interior Department in Washington, D.C., a position she has held since January 2001.

At the Interior Department, Rachlin works with Chief Information Officer Daryl White to lead the department’s information technology initiatives.

"That sounds mighty complicated to me," said Mrs. Green, "but Sue loves her job. She’s where she needs to be and she’s doing what she wants to do. She gives her father credit for getting her on the right track. She said he was wise because he

probably knew that if she ever got in public service, she would stay there. I’m sure she’s glad she listened to her father’s advice."

Sue Rachlin was profiled in the May 21, 2001 edition of Federal Computer Week magazine and her mother couldn’t help but beam with pride.

"I’m proud of Sue for all she had done and for all she has accomplished," Mrs. Green said. "She is dedicate to her work and the best thing is that she enjoys what she does. Just like all mothers, I’m proud of all my children. Lorraine retired from the state highway department and Jimmy retired from Eglin Air Force Base in Ft. Walton, Fla.

They both had successful careers and enjoyed what they did. That’s the best thing a mother or father can hope for their children – that they are successful at what they do and are happy doing it."

On Sunday, Americans will celebrate Children’s Day and Mrs. Green said she will pause to give thanks for her three children and the joys they have brought to her life.

"My children grew up in this old house," she said. "Every time I thought about moving to something smaller and more modern, I looked in there and I could see a baby in the crib and I didn’t want to live anywhere else. Mothers have a way of holding on to memories of their children and not ever letting them go – no matter how far away the children go or how high they climb."