The Ladies of Manners Club of the South

Katie Watson Butts grew up in Louisville, Mississippi appreciating the welcoming atmosphere created by good manners. One of her early childhood memories was learning to set a table using a well-worn template stored in her grandmother’s china cabinet. Having watched her mother regularly consult the 1958 edition of Amy Vanderbilt’s Complete Book of Etiquette, Katie recalls fondly the Christmas morning when she was given her own copy as a teenager. Friends would often consult Katie while studying at Ole Miss, and her copy of “Amy Vanderbilt”, and she developed an interest in sharing this knowledge with others. After graduation, she and her high school sweetheart, Will, married and spent several years in the Washington, DC area, where they welcomed their daughter, Betsy, 3, before moving to Huntsville in early 2021. While she spends her days working in talent development, she still delights in answering etiquette queries from family and friends and is thrilled to share all the best things about good manners with young children in the area. Katie is active with Junior League of Huntsville and loves working on the Book Ball Committee.

Susie Swanson Fortner grew up in Huntsville and has been an etiquette buff since receiving her first copy of Amy Vanderbilt’s Complete Book of Etiquette at age 14 from the Victorian Cotillion Committee. She is mama to 2 kiddos (Frances, 8 and Freddie, 11) and wife to Mark. She first began teaching etiquette classes through the Gothic Guild 15 years ago. Susie and her long-time friend, Cate DeFiore, started Miss Mabel’s Manners Camp in 2015 focusing on pre-school through middle school children. They enjoyed working with campers for 5 years. She has presented etiquette seminars to many local groups including Leadership Huntsville, Rotaract, and Huntsville Symphony Orchestra Debutantes.  Susie is active in the Symphony Guild, Gothic Guild, and the Church of the Nativity, Episcopal

 After graduating from the University of Alabama with a Finance and Computer Science degree, she worked in Birmingham. She then moved to The Bahamas, Vienna, and Monaco working as a Financial Analyst. Susie loves travel and discovering the cultures of the world. Her library includes etiquette books from her mother, grandmother, and estate sales.