Cora Sue Mach fills her life with the love of family, the kinship of good friends, the joy of music, and the pleasure of giving back to the community she cares so much about.

A native Houstonian, Cora Sue has a wide range of interests, which is evident in her involvement in a diverse and broad range of charitable activities. She is retired from Mach Industrial Group, a family business, which just celebrated its 70th year. Cora Sue considers herself part of a family team, along with her late husband of fifty-eight years, Harry Mach, and their sons and daughters-in-law, Harry III (Butch) and Carmen and Steve and Joella. The up-and-coming superstars of the team are their five grandchildren, Priscilla, Bennett, Isabella, Evelyn, and Lilly. 

Cora Sue is a graduate of Incarnate Word Academy, the oldest continuing operating school in Houston. She also attended the University of Houston.

Throughout the years, in addition to her position at Mach Industrial Group, Cora Sue always found time to volunteer at her sons’ schools. She was active in the Boy Scout programs and Little League. She and Harry cochaired the St. Thomas High School Round-Up in 1987, and she served as Mothers’ Club president at the school in 1988.

When her sons left for college, Cora Sue felt a void in her life and accepted an invitation from a friend to become a founding member of Baylor Research Advocates for Student Scientists (BRASS). The organization is the support group for the Graduate School at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM). Little did she know that this step would make such a change to her life.

Reflecting on the last thirty years, Cora Sue has come to realize just how different her life would be had she not gotten involved in the community. The many friendships she treasures would not exist, nor would she have the wonderful memories associated with the various organizations and events she has been, and still is, affiliated with.

One of Cora Sue’s greatest joys is working with her dear friend Sidney Faust. They have cochaired the Houston Symphony’s Maestro Luncheon, the Huffington Center Women’s Health Summit, the Inaugural Salvation Army Chic Boutique, the Cornerstone Dinner for the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, and the Baylor Partnership Gala. In October 2021, the pair hosted their 20th annual Trick or Toy Party for ladies in the Houston Community. Each guest brings gifts for the patients at Texas Children’s Hospital Cancer Center. In December, they host a Christmas party for the children at the center and distribute the toys.  

Cora Sue served as president of the Baylor Partnership at BCM from 1998 to 1999, president of BRASS at BCM from 2001 to 2002, and president of Houston Symphony League from 2003 to 2004. She has also been president of  the Houston/Gulf Coast Chapter of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, Citizen’s Against Lawsuit Abuse, Incarnate Word Academy Advisory School Board, and Incarnate Word Academy Alumnae Association.

Cora Sue served as vice president of education for the Houston Symphony Society for five years. She continues to serve on the Houston Symphony Board, and is a lifetime trustee. She also has served on several other boards, including the Houston Symphony League, the BCM Breast Center Advisory Council, the Baylor Partnership, the Huffington Center, and the Houston Ballet. Currently, Cora Sue serves on the advisory boards for the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston and the Shepherd School at Rice University. In the spring of 2011, she completed her six-year term on the Board of the University of St. Thomas. Cora Sue is an associate member of the River Oaks Women’s Breakfast Club.

Cora Sue and Harry chaired the Centennial Year for St. Thomas High School in 2000 and Mardi Gras 2008 for the University of St. Thomas. They also served as honorary chairs for the 2012 Pink Ribbon House benefiting the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center at BCM. In 2014, the couple, along with their children Joella and Steve Mach, cochaired the Centennial Ball for the Houston Symphony. Cora Sue is proud to be an Associate of Trinity University in San Antonio. In January 2017, they hosted the Making Connections evening for the Houston Area Trinity University students and alumni, in their home, for the twenty-fourth year. In April 2017, Cora Sue and Harry chaired the Café Society Soiree Gala for the Partnership at BCM.

Cora Sue was selected as an ABC-TV Woman of Distinction in 2000 and was the 2007 Women of Distinction Ambassador. She and Harry received one of the Pacesetter Awards from the Cancer League in 2000 and were named Ambassadors in 2006. In 2001, she was honored at the Hats Off To Mothers Luncheon hosted by United Cerebral Palsy. In 2001, Cora Sue was presented with a Spirit of Anne Morrow Lindbergh Award by the Huffington Center. In 2006, she and Harry were named Houston Treasures by The Social Book. That same year, she received the Ellen Kelley Award from the Houston Symphony League. In 2012, Cora Sue was honored by the Pink Ribbons Project.

The Mach family was honored as the Family of the Year by Family Services of Greater Houston in 2003. In 2008, the family was honored by the Moores School of Music at their Annual Dinner Concert. In 2012, the family was truly honored and humbled to receive The Guardian of the Human Spirit Award from Holocaust Museum Houston. 

Cora Sue feels especially rewarded watching her children as they reach out to the community and assume leadership roles in worthwhile activities and on boards and foundations. Above all, she is truly blessed and grateful for the pleasure and rewards of being a grandmother to the “Mach Five.” 

It is for all the reasons mentioned above, and many more, that Cora Sue Mach has been named a Top 20 Inspiring Woman Impact Maker for 2023.