Conway’s ‘Alzheimer’s lady’ helps raise funds with walk
Melissa Longing says she has come to be known as “the Alzheimer’s lady in Conway.”
“That is not a bad name at all,” she says. “If I can make someone feel a little better or let them know what to expect, then I am really glad.”
Longing has been the chairwoman of the Faulkner County Alzheimer’s Walk, which she started in 2006, for 18 years. “I’ve been letting more and more people handle events, but I still feel responsible,” she says. It’s great, she adds, that more people, and more younger people, have gotten involved.
“We have a committee that is unrivaled anywhere. They’re very passionate and very committed, and they’re all also really good friends.”
Longing’s father, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at 59, died in September 2003 at age 68. And for the next two years she, her mother, Shirley Montgomery; her husband, Danny; and her daughter Allie, took part in fundraising walks for Alzheimer’s at the Little Rock Zoo. And, “after the second year going there, I told mom, ‘Conway is big enough to have a walk of its own.’
“That December I was at a Christmas party with some of my high school friends and I told them of my dream, and they all said, ‘Let’s make it happen!’ Mom had already said she was in; we worked so hard and had the first walk at [Conway’s] Toad Suck Park that next September.”
Longing says they chose the park as the walk site “because Dad loved to walk there.”
That first walk drew 250 people, including then-University of Arkansas Athletic Director Frank Broyles, who, Longing recalls, “brought the crowd to tears with his experiences helping care for his first wife, Barbara. This helped me with the grieving process for several years to come.” It raised $42,000.
Longing says that while she was caring for her father, she had not heard of Alzheimer’s Arkansas. “I had no idea they even existed,” she says. “The funeral home put [the nonprofit] in his obituary” as a place to send contributions.
And “I had to grieve again when my mother-in-law died of Alzheimer’s in 2009. Then I transitioned into realizing how much good we could do for the caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients [who are] still alive.
“The money we raise at the walks benefits Alzheimer’s Arkansas Programs & Services in Little Rock.” (Longing is careful to distinguish it from the Alzheimer’s Association, which raises funds for research.)
“We try and make it where as many folks as possible can come,”
she explains. There’s no cost to participate, but if participants who donate $25 or more get an event T-shirt.
“We raise money for families and caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients. Many times they are the forgotten ones when this disease is a diagnosis of a family or friend. Longing notes that 88% of the money the nonprofit raises “[goes] to actual programs and services, their administrative fees are very low and all funds stay right here in Arkansas.”
The walk is always in the fall, either in September (“Remember in September”) or October (“Alzheimer’s Is a Scary Thing”), with an attempt to coordinate with the Arkansas Razorbacks football schedule.
The walk has taken place at five different venues over the years; the 2020 walk, in the depths of the covid-19 pandemic, was virtual. The 2021 walk took place outdoors at Conway High’s football stadium and participants wore masks.
The most recent walks have consisted of a couple of laps around the Buzz Bolding Arena, where Conway High students play basketball and volleyball. It’s not a race, Longing says: “I don’t like competitive walks.” The average annual participation has been between 400 and 600.
This year’s event was Oct. 14. (The Razorbacks lost that day to the Alabama Crimson Tide, 24-21. Despite her lack of spare time, Longing says, “I do love sports, all kinds, but especially love Razorback baseball.”) Attendance was down but the money the walk raised was “way up,” Longing says.
“In 2023 we had over 250 people come to the walk, and raised more than $81,000,” she says. Last year’s walk brought in $72,000.
The walk attracts corporate sponsorships and teams pledge money, “and we do fundraisers throughout the year in order to reach our goal,” including a Mother’s Day brunch, a Christmas shopping extravaganza, a pancake breakfast at Stoby’s and the February “Cruisin’ 4 Alzheimer’s Care.”
Longing has lived in Conway since she was 5 years old. “I love Conway because so many people have loving, giving hearts,” she says. “I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”
She works as the office manager for Danny Longing Properties. For 31 years she was co-owner of The Carpet Center, but a few years ago sold it to her son, nephew and a former employee. “My office is just next door so I still bug them often,” she quips.
In March 2015, Longing received Alzheimer’s Arkansas’ first Volunteer Advocate of the Year award. She now serves as the nonprofit board’s vice president.
“Once, when I was making a speech at an organization, I had a lady whose husband has Alzheimer’s tell me that her grandchildren loved coming and walking with their granddad,” she says. “That story made me feel so good! Sometimes it is hard to know if we are making a real difference in people’s lives.”
“In 2023 we had over 250 people come to the walk, and raised more than $81,000.” — Melissa Longing