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JUDITH LONG, who helped found the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate and was instrumental in expanding the its scope throughout the Mid-coast region, was recently honored by the organization with its first Lifetime Achievement Award.
JUDITH LONG, who helped found the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate and was instrumental in expanding the its scope throughout the Mid-coast region, was recently honored by the organization with its first Lifetime Achievement Award.
BATH — Habitat for Humanity / 7 Rivers Maine has given Judith Long of Brunswick its first Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Habitat is remembering the volunteer who not only helped found the organization (more than) 20 years ago, but who went on to work tirelessly in every facet of the nonprofit organization to build its programs and to fulfill its mission for the southern Midcoast region,” a Habitat release states.

“Started as a Bath- Brunswick Habitat affiliate, the organization grew under (Long’s) volunteer leadership to serve 31 towns from Brunswick to Boothbay and to not only build homes but to weatherize, repair and rehabilitate homes for persons with limited incomes.”

“I first met Judith at the 2007 Spring Walk when she offered to transport water to a way station,” Habitat’s volunteer coordinator, Michele Ober, said in the release. “I thought she was awesome! Little did I know, she was the founder, had sat on the board, had sold shingles at fundraisers, had raised walls at Women Builds, and led the family support committee. She’s done it all to support Habitat.”

Long served for nearly a decade as the chairwoman of Habitat’s family support committee. She developed manuals for homeowners to take them through every step of financing and homeownership. Under her leadership, the local Habitat affiliate established the family advocate program for each partner family.

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A master gardener, Long began a program to landscape new Habitat homes and encouraged the development of a community garden in a Bath neighborhood where Bath Iron Works had donated land and homes to Habitat.

In 2000, she and her husband, Burke, traveled to Americus, Ga., to join former president Jimmy Carter and volunteers from around the country to build 35 houses in one week, including the milestone 100,000th Habitat home.

“There could be no better initial recipient of our Lifetime Achievement Award than Judith Long,” Dave Perron, executive director of the 7 Rivers Maine Habitat affiliate, said in the release. “She has been with Habitat every step of the way through its growing years from a small one-person office to building 33 homes for partner families and now expansion of its mission to weatherize, repair and rehabilitate homes. … She has made a lifetime commitment to affordable housing for families.”

JUDITH LONG is not related to Robert Long, managing editor of The Times Record.


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