ENCINITAS — Anywhere there is a worthwhile local project that needs a helping hand, from the Holiday Parade to the Sister City program to building new parks, playgrounds and Little League fields, you can count on Doug Long to pitch in.
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Long, the upcoming recipient of the San Dieguito Heritage Museum’s Living Heritage Award, moved to North County in 1952, attending local schools until graduation in 1968. After Palomar College, he joined the Marines Corps Reserves and was on active and reserve duty for seven years. Be a part of honoring Long at the San Dieguito Heritage’s Deep Pit Barbecue May 17 at 450 Quail Gardens Drive. The museum will present the Encinitas native with its Living Heritage Award, honoring this exceptional man who has given with uncommon generosity of his time and talents.
Long has been married to married to his wife, Karen for 41 years. They have two children, Brian and Christi. Since 1974, he has owned and operated Bert’s Plumbing, a local plumbing repair business.
Whenever he has some free time, he is enjoys golf, basketball, softball. He has a real interest in organic gardening, including vegetables, fruits and flowers.
As a longtime believer in the value of youth sports activities, he has given his time and construction knowledge to many of the sports activity fields that are now permanent fixtures in the Encinitas community, including the San Dieguito Boys and Girls Club and the original YMCA. In 1972, Long and other members of the Encinitas Optimist Club, helped build the first Girls’ Softball Field on Lake Dr. in Cardiff. He also organized and built a temporary site on Saxony Road for the Boys’ Pony/Colt Baseball Field. He donated the plumbing materials and labor for the new snack bar, and coached and managed his son’s little league teams, T-ball through senior league. He also umpired boys’ baseball and girls’ softball.
Never forgetting the importance of local schools in our children’s lives, he organized and designed the kindergarten play structure at Ocean Knoll Elementary School. For this effort, he
received the Honorary Founders Day Award from Ocean Knoll School. As his children grew
older, Long volunteered at La Costa Canyon High School for the boys’ varsity baseball team, constructing restrooms and dugouts. He was awarded the La Costa Canyon Everyday Hero Award in 1998.
Long seems to be everywhere as a volunteer when needed, and appreciative awards have followed. In 2012, he was awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce. In the preceding years, he also received a Proclamation from Mayor Maggie Houlihan, a Resolution from Congressman Brian P. Bilbray, a Proclamation from the County Of San Diego, and the Ida Lou Coley Award from Downtown Encinitas Main Street 101, culminating with the 2012 Volunteer of the Decade Award from the Downtown Encinitas Main Street 101 Association.
During his life in Encinitas, he has given his time to numerous civic committees. He continues to serve on the Encinitas Sister City Program, the Encinitas Preservation Association, the Encinitas Holiday/Christmas Parade Committee, the Encinitas Heritage Museum Site Committee, and as the chairperson for Encinitas Community Service for the local Rotary Club.
He has served on the city of Encinitas Parks and Recreation Committee for many years and was recently elected chairman of that vital committee. He was also recently installed as vice president for the Encinitas Community Garden and selected as the project manager for the gardens. And, of course, he and Karen are continuing their sponsorship through Bert’s Plumbing for Girls’ Softball for the 39th year.
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