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Long and Long hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, showing off its newly renovated building to friends, family and staff.

After decades of serving the community under the name of Gay & Joseph PC, Managing Partner Wesley E. Long Jr. and Partner Wesley “Trae” Long III made the impactful decision to rebrand their company under a new name, Long and Long.

“Well, I’ve been here off and on for about 30 years now,” Long Jr. said “It’s weird because my identity really has been under Gay and Joseph, so every time I see Long and Long, it sort of freaks me out, you know, but it’s a good freakout.”

As Long Jr. has continued to age over the years throughout his successful career, he made a  major decision two years ago to pass the reigns of his business onto his son, Long III, trusting him to take on the major responsibilities of the company by making him an official partner. The two plan to continue to work side by side until Long Jr. decides to retire.

“I’m getting older, and it’s time for me to go at some point, and I want him and some of our other staff that are coming up through the company to take this thing and keep it going,” Long Jr. said. 

Amidst his fresh title and going through the process of rebranding, Long III says he looks forward to taking on more responsibilities while working with his father and the company’s trusted team of employees. 

“I’m looking forward to the future,” Long III said. “I’ve been working here for a little over 11 years, and I’ve been a partner now for two of them. We’ve got a really good team that we really enjoy working with and we’ve worked hard on creating a good culture and environment and being a place where our employees like to come to work every day.” 

As the Longs take on this new journey of rebranding, their loyal clientele has responded positively to the change, thanking them for providing their services for so many years.

“I want to say thanks for all the support from the community,” Long Jr. said. “As we changed the name, clients have come and said how happy they are for us. It really makes you feel good.”

“They’re proud of us — and changing the name after we’ve been here like 45-50 years, is sort of a weird, big step, so I appreciate all the support that we’ve gotten doing that.” 

Contributing even further to the community, the Longs hope to provide more jobs to the city by hiring rising accountants from LaGrange College. As both the Longs are alumni of the school, the two expressed that they want to provide an opportunity for fellow graduates to get started in the career of accounting as well. 

“Come join us. Accountants are getting scarce. That we know. We’ve got to have people that want to work for local firms and be involved in the community,” Long Jr. said. “You can have a real fulfilling future — not only doing the work but getting to know people and becoming a part of their lives too.”