Retiring Tag Agent: 35 years is enough

Way back in the last century on April Fools Day (April 1), 1989, Sharon Malcom started working for the Claremore Tag Agency.

Coworkers, friends and community members celebrated Malcom’s retirement Tuesday.

She worked for then Tag Agency owner Malinda Brown.

Malcom recalls how business was done during her early days. Basically everything was done on typewriters, with ink pen in hand and one computer, she recalls.

“Things weren’t antiquated then. We just had little to no idea how things would change,” she said, “from people in the Rogers County area to the tools we needed to work with to the State operating extremely slowly with the new ideas and computing; something we had not dealt with.

“It was a new world we were moving into. We just had to learn with everyone else,” she said.

Malcom was appointed to the Tag Agency ownership role by then State Senator Sean Burrage.

She recalls that the Senator told her she needed to come down to his office and discuss a couple of things. She made quick arrangements with Brown and rushed to meet him.

Malcom said she had no idea Brown was planning to turn it to over to her.

“It was November 7, 2008, and I told Senator Burrage that I at least needed to discuss it with my husband,” Sharon said.

“November the 8th, I told him yes, and I was appointed.”

Within a half year she hired Donell Schumacher to be her assistant, and Schumacher has been turning the pages through Malcom’s administration and now onto a new one.

“We have kept as many of the same people together as we could.” Malcom said.

Jennifer Bickel, the new owner, has worked for the Tag Office since November of 2000.

And, now with 23 years of experience, “she knows what it takes to have a successful venture,” Malcom said.

Malcom is a Claremore original. She was born in Claremore, raised in Claremore and “was a Zebra through Claremore High School, attended Roger State College and have been a part of this community for 70 years,” she said.

“Working for the people of Claremore and Rogers County meant the world to me and made living and working here that much better,” Malcom said.

Making the transition out of her job as owner of the Claremore Tag Agency was not as easy as her coming in due to changes in how agents are approved. Malcom said she Bickel spent the last two years working with legislators trying to get the company ownership changed. Finally, the new state agency in charge of motor vehicle services and public safety licensing, Service Oklahoma, made it happen.

“I wanted to keep people that use this business in[side] our place the shortest period of time possible.

“They like that, we like it and we trust the people of Claremore has liked it as well,” Malcom said.

“The people who work here know how to do each and every job that needs done, and that makes our life that much more simple to continue to work,” she said.

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