Description
Brenda Long, Mrs. Southwest Missouri, is the founder and CEO of One More Day. One More Day is a nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to suicide awareness and prevention, promoting mental health and creating a message of hope and encouragement for people of all ages. Brenda lost her father at the age of 45 and her maternal grandfather at the age of 73 both to suicide. She is passionate about breaking the stigma associated with mental illness, educating about suicide awareness and prevention and assisting the families left behind.
Brenda and her husband Paul have been married for 31 years. They have three children, Blake (32), Nick (27) and Kennadie (24) and are Nana and Papa to Henry (7), James (4) and Autumn (6).
In Brenda’s spare time she enjoys traveling, baking, interior design, volunteering her time speaking about the importance of physical and mental health and spending time with family and friends. She has been to 43 states and 20 different countries and will be adding Ireland and Belgium to that list at the end of May. She and her husband Paul love learning about different cultures and were honored by the Bolivar Rotary Club for hosting foreign exchange students from Germany and Belgium and have participated in mission trips to Venezuela and Nicaragua.
Brenda’s favorite quote is “Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step in to the new story you are willing to create.” – Oprah Winfrey