(This week The Columbian-Progress spotlights Marion County Comptroller and Inventory Clerk Susan Bridges.)
Q: When and where were you born?
A: I was born in Jackson April 25, 1967.
Q: Where did you attend school?
A: I graduated from Prentiss Christian and got a business degree from USM.
Q: Where all have you lived?
A: I have lived in Jackson for a good bit, Hattiesburg, Prentiss and Columbia.
Q: Where do you work? Tell us about your job/company.
A: I am the comptroller and inventory clerk for Marion County. I am the jack-of-all-trades and master-of-none. What I really do is handling the budget. Everybody here has their piece of the puzzle, and I come back behind them and make sure everything is right with the reports. Another thing I do is work with the Board (of Supervisors) minutes. The supervisors speak through their minutes. Every action they take has to have a board order and have approval from three out of the five to do anything. I make sure everyone has their minutes to do their job. I record the minutes, put them in the books and put them in the indexing. The other thing I do is the inventory, and I keep a list of all of the assets the county owns to keep track of how many tractors, trucks and things like that it has.
Q: What exactly does the Marion County Board of Supervisors handle?
A: The most important thing they do is keep in close contact with their constituents. If there’s something the people really don’t like, they hear about it. It’s their job to try to make things the best they can be for the citizens of Marion County. I think all five of them do a really good job of that. I have never once heard them complain about somebody complaining to them because they really want to make sure the taxpayer gets what they need and is taken care of. They are in charge of the county’s budget.
Q: What led you to your profession?
A: My father, J.P. Buckley, was always real business minded, and a lot of people would ask him for advice. I really looked up to him a lot. If you ever wanted any really good money advice, he was the go-to-guy.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your job?
A: Anything about this job that is a challenge. I’m around a lot of really good people. The ladies in this office have taught me a lot both professionally and personally, which has helped me grow in a number of ways. I look to the board and see how they treat the constituents, which helps me with how I treat other people. They always listen with a concerned ear, and that’s what I try to implement into my life.
Q: If you could relive one day from your life, what day would you choose?
A: There’s actually two. The birth of my son was a precious day. Just shy of the pain I would live it over a lot. He’s my pride and joy and one and only. The other day was when I married my current husband. My husband took both of us on and never batted an eye. He loves my son just like his very own. You would never know that he is his stepdad. My son, Drake, doesn’t know that there could be a negative connotation to stepdad.
Q: What is your spouse’s name? What does he do for a living?
A: James Bridges. He works as a safety man on the pipeline.
Q: If you could have anything for your last meal on earth, what would it be?
A: It would have to be shrimp. I’m a beach girl at heart.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A: I would go to Key West, Fla. I’d want to put my toes in the sand.
Q: What hobbies do you like to do in your spare time?
A: I’m a real avid reader. I love to go out to the training school and walk. It is the best place in the world to walk. It’s peaceful, quiet and absolutely beautiful at any time of day. I like taking pictures. My brother-in-law is a professional photographer, and he gives me lessons when we get the time. I also like to hang out with my guys and watch movies. We love to go to the movies. We always try to stay here at Marion Theatre — I’m a shop at home kind of gal — and we like to throw popcorn at each other, laugh and have a good time.
Q: What do you enjoy about living and working in Columbia and Marion County?
A: There were so many more opportunities for my son than in Prentiss. That was the main reason for moving here. He had the opportunity to take Kung Fu, has been involved in show choir, summertime programs at the library and has taken guitar and piano lessons. He had the opportunity to try out for the Mississippi Baptist All-State Youth Choir and Orchestra and made that. He wouldn’t have had those types of opportunities had we stayed in Prentiss. Prentiss is a really small town and very sports oriented. I just knew this was a kid friendly place. He goes to Columbia Academy, and we go to First Baptist Church here in Columbia. All the schools here are great schools with great teachers, and the only reason we kept him in a private school is because he was in one before we moved here. It’s just a good place to be for a family.
Q: If you could have lunch with anyone from your life or history, who would it be and why?
A: Albert Einstein. He was an interesting person. He was highly intelligent, but he was a dreamer in the best way of possible. I like to think outside of the box, and I think he was really outside the box in an artistic way, not just in a scientific way. I like people who go over different genres.
Q: Would you rather read a good book or watch a good movie and why?
A: I’d rather read a good book hands down. I can interpret a book a different way than when I’m watching something visual where it’s what you see is what you get. When I’m reading a book I can interpret something a little differently than someone else.
Q: If you could describe your morals in a few words, what would they be?
A: Tell the truth; it will set you free.
— Joshua Campbell
Pictured Above: Marion County Comptroller Susan Bridges says the educational opportunities for her son were one of the reasons she moved to Columbia. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
