- December 4, 2025
From Flagler County's Celebration of Life in loving memory of Jorge and Nancy Salinas. Flagler County image
Matthew and Kalin Salinas remembered their parents' love and generosity. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matthew and Kalin Salinas spoke about their parents love for adventure which they passed on to their children. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Flagler County Commission Chair Andy Dance welcomed people to the Celebration of Life for Jorge and Nancy Salinas. Photo by Brent Woronoff
County Administrator Heidi Petito said Deputy Administrator Jorge Salinas led by example, 'he never sought attention or credit.' Photo by Brent Woronoff
Bunnell City Manager Alvin B. Jackson delivered the opening prayer and the closing blessing. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Eileen Dugan, left, and Kim Cazzaniga of Santa Maria Del Mar Catholic Church in Flagler Beach sang three devotional songs during the ceremony. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Photo of Jorge Salinas in the Flagler County Government Services Building. Flagler County image
Flagler County Deputy Administrator Jorge Salinas and his wife Nancy were remembered as loving souls who lived a life of faith and service to others.
Jorge, 59, and Nancy, 60, were among three people who died on the night of Oct. 4 in a hit-and-run crash involving four vehicles on eastbound I-4 in DeBary.
An estimated 150 people attended the county’s Celebration of Life for the couple on Sunday, Oct. 12, at the Palm Coast Community Center.
Flagler County Commission Chair Andy Dance said Jorge and Nancy “left us a legacy to serve with humility, to love generously and to walk each day with gratitude and grace.”
Their adult children, Matthew and Kalin Salinas, thanked the county for organizing the celebration and reaching out to them in the days after the crash.
“My dad loved working for Flagler County,” Matthew said. “He believed deeply in the work that he did and took great pride in every project. I know that if he was here, he'd be very proud, not just of the work that was done, but also the community that has shown up for us and the love that you all have given us.”
Kalin said their parents gave so much to the Flagler community, “and it's clear that this community loved them right back.”
She said their parents provided them with an abundance of laughter, memories and adventure.
Jorge had a quote that he lived by that he wrote in all of his work and personal journals, Matthew said.
“You’d open up the front page and you’d see it: ‘Build people up by encouragement. Give people credit by acknowledgment. And give people recognition by gratitude.’ And that was him to the core,” Matthew said.
Nancy loved Disney World, collecting Disney pins and trading with strangers, finding friends wherever she went. She loved to make jewelry and take on remodeling projects, Matthew and Kalin said.
“They both loved living in Florida, watching the NASA launches together,” Matthew said. “It was one of their favorite shared moments, both of them looking up, watching the rockets shoot up towards the stars. That's how I want to picture them now, still looking up, still together on a beach, watching the rocket trails grow.”
Jorge served as deputy county administrator since 2020 after serving as deputy city administrator in Albany, Oregon. He previously served in the Air Force and worked for Hewlett-Packard.
County Administrator Heidi Petito noted that she and Jorge had competed for the same job.
He was always more interested in lifting others up than claiming the spotlight for himself.
— HEIDI PETITO, Flagler County administrator
“He ultimately received the offer,” she said, “only to turn around and support me when I took that job. That was who he was. He was always more interested in lifting others up than claiming the spotlight for himself. Jorge believed in teamwork and mentorship, and in doing what was right, not what was easy.”
Dance said Petito and Salinas made a “powerhouse team” and were perfect complements in managing county operations, planning projects and solving problems.
“Jorge had a quiet strength that made everyone around him better,” Dance said. “(His) leadership can be seen across the community in many different ways.”
Salinas had a background in IT, which was evident in some of his most notable projects, including rolling out county-wide broadband service, bringing digital service to the western-most part of the county that was in dire need of it, Dance said. Salinas’ pet project was creating the county’s transparency dashboard.
“It helped us as a county strengthen trust with our residents by basically creating a portal where every bit of information you could ever want to know about the county was … at a resident's fingertips,” Dance said.
Salinas also worked on the county’s strategic plan, the beach funding plan and the annual capital improvement plan and modernized the fleet management plan. He was always ready during tropical storms to throw on a pair of boots and help with whatever was needed, Dance said.
Matthew told a story of his father graduating high school at the top of his class and winning a scholarship, the only one available. But the girl who came in second couldn’t afford to go to college, so Jorge gave her his scholarship.
They truly did complete each other. Even though we've lost the most important people in our lives. There is some sweetness in knowing that.
— KALIN SALINAS, Jorge and Nancy's daughter
“Dad gave Mom a beautiful life,” Kalin said, “where she could be creative and free, while Mom kept Dad young at heart while caring for him and everybody around her. They truly did complete each other. Even though we've lost the most important people in our lives. There is some sweetness in knowing that.”
“I take comfort in knowing that they didn't have to say goodbye,” Matthew said. “They just went on their next adventure together, just like they always wanted to — together.”
