Meet the Official: Salazar is a native Oklahoman

Gloria Salazar is the County Clerk for Marshall County and has lived in Marshall County almost her entire life. Born in Ardmore and raised in Madill, Salazar raised her family here in Madill as well.

She and her husband, Abundio, have been married for 29 years and are enjoying the new role of being grandparents. Salazar, who is running unopposed for another term as the County Clerk for Marshall County said she enjoys her job and her small town life. The Madill Record was able to sit down with Salazar for a short Q&A for the residents to get to know her.

Q: Tell our readers about yourself.

A: “I was born in Ardmore, Oklahoma. I have lived here all my life, in Madill. I’ve got four brothers and three sisters. I have a big family. We all went to school here, in Madill. Graduated here from Madill. And now I am married. I’ve been married for 29 years. I’ve got two sons, Antonio, my oldest, and Javiar is my youngest; and two grandkids. Javiar is a senior in college, he is going to SouthEastern. Antonio is in El Paso and is a Safety Coordinator. He works in road construction. He’s been there for about three years now. But hopefully they will be moving closer soon. I have two grandkids, a boy and a girl. Diego is five and Kendra is two. I don’t get to see them very often. I just havetoFaceTimewiththem.”

Q: How did you and your husband, Abundio, meet?

A: “We were actually at a Quinceañera in Ardmore. That is where we met. We started dating. I was15 years old at the time and now we have been married for 29 years.”

Q: What do you like better being a grandma or being a mom?

A: “I would say being a grandmother. Because it is different, because with them you can buy them whatever you want. But when it was with your kids you always watched what you buy or what you spent. I mean it is just different.”

Q:Howlonghaveyoubeen in your position as County Clerk for Marshall County?

A: “This is my fourth year as county clerk. I was hired in 2011 as a second deputy here in the county clerk’s office. Then I was moved to first deputyin2015andhavebeen here ever since. Then since no one is running against me I will begin my new term in January of 2025.”

Q: Since you grew up here in Madill and Marshall County, what do you think would be good to have in the county for the younger residents? Madill is revitalizing the baseball fields on the hill and that is a start. Is there anything else that would be beneficial in your opinion?

A: “Yes, I did live up there part of my life and just up there next to the baseball fields. And I played Softball. There are a lot of sports that they do here. They do baseball, they do football and basketball. I would like to see aYMCAtypething.Togetthe kids more involved in things like swimming. You can’t do that year around here. It is only the pool in the summertime so something like a YMCA would be great. Or like a Boys and Girls club” Q: With all the growth and expansion in Marshall County do you think something like a YMCA or A Boys and Girls Club and more affordable housing options would attract families to the area?

A: “I definitely do. Yes we do need a lot more housing than what we have now. If you look on Facebook all the time people are looking for places to rent, asking if anyone knows of anything around Kingston or Madill, that's around this price range. Everything is going up, they definitely need a raise I think in their jobs and I know that is hard but with everything going up people need to be paid more too.”

Q: What do you do in your spare time, what are your interests and hobbies?

A: I love to watch movies. I love to read. When I am not cleaning the house or cooking I am watching t.v. And we have a dog named Bella that we rescued from the Madill Animal Shelter. She is just very hyper, she is a year old and she gets the zoomies a lot. We love her.”

Q: You got Bella from the Madill Animal Shelter, how awesome is it to have a program like that in the community?

A: “ I love it. I wish more peoplewouldgooutthereand adopt animals because there arejustsomanyanimalsthat are just left on the side of the road and thrown away and it is just so sad.”

Q: One thing about Marshall County is that everyone really pulls together to help each other out. Why do you think that is it?

A:“Idon’tknow.Iknowwe are a small town, Madill and Kingston both. We just like to help each other. When we see people in need we like to help each other if we can.”

Q: Is there anything that you would like the readers to know about you?

A: “I love living in Marshall County. I love living in a small town. I’ve been here my whole life and I plan on staying here forever. I love the people.”