2024 Hometown HEROES Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS June/July 2024 Page 15 Logan County Fairgrounds. Many of the plants provided for these sales came from either Long’s garden or Struebing’s greenhouse. Struebing also shared that Long has previously participated in a program called “Plant a Row for the Hungry.” This is a national program that encourages people to donate their extra produce to organizations that will distribute them to the homeless or others who are food insecure. Long also puts his love of tractors to use by driving them and doing tiling and harvesting work for a friend in the spring and fall seasons. Long does all this, and more, but does not himself understand why he was selected to be featured in this Hometown Heroes magazine. When first contacted by Lincoln Daily News for an interview, Long asked, “now why would you all want to write an article about me?” Those who were interviewed for this article answered Long’s question by sharing their favorite things about Long. Struebing spoke into Long’s service as a veteran as well, saying “Vince is a dedicated veteran who is always on call to serve in the Legion’s firing squad at funerals in Central Illinois.” Hickey described Long as dependable, saying he was “always there when you need him,” and that he “will do anything for you.” Pam Moriearty also shared her approval for Long being picked as a Hometown Hero, calling him “a great candidate.” Long still sees others as more deserving than himself, however. At the start of our interview with Long, he thought it important to share that there were plenty of other deserving people. His humbleness and love for serving others became very apparent during the interview, as well as with what others had to say about him. He, however, is just happy to do what he does and “see the smiles it brings to the faces of others.”
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