Nephi barbershop donates day's sales to support daughter of Wayne County flash flood victims

NEPHI — A Nephi barbershop turned a day of haircuts into a fundraiser Monday, donating all of its sales to support a young woman who lost members of her immediate family in the devastating flash flood that swept through Wayne County last week.

Branded Barbers raised approximately $4,500 by donating every dollar earned during the day to Lydia Vernon, whose mother, Katrina Long, stepfather, Spencer Long, and three younger brothers were killed in the flood Friday.

The shop's owners and stylists worked without pay, contributing their wages to the effort. Stylist and co-owner Shawny Allred said Spencer Long and the three boys would come into the shop in Nephi for haircuts from time to time. She also said Katrina Long would donate raffle items from her business, Summit Medical Spa, to the shop's annual veteran fundraiser.

Family friends said Lydia did not accompany her family on their camping trip near Bicknell and was living out of state. They said she received the tragic news this weekend and returned to Utah to bury her family.

Allred said the fundraiser was intended to remind Lydia that she is not alone.

"I hope she feels love, that she has a support system behind her, that she's not going to be forgotten throughout all of this, even when it all kind of calms down," Allred said.

An estimated 70 customers filled the shop in Nephi and another location in Spanish Fork throughout the day, many motivated less by the need for a haircut than by a desire to help.

"There's people who didn't even need a haircut today, but they still wanted to come in and support the cause," Allred said.

Among them was Chris Neilsen of Mona, who knew Spencer Long from their time working in emergency medical services in Juab County. He said he wanted a way to help Lydia, while respecting her need to privately grieve.

"I don't want to be too invasive to Lydia and respect her privacy," Neilsen said. "She's got a tough road ahead, but I wanted to be able to contribute where I could."

Allred said she hopes the fundraiser inspires others to continue helping Lydia and others in need.

"I just hope it inspires people to do better, to give back where needed, to help the family and have her feel love," she said.

The money raised Monday will be privately donated to Lydia Vernon later this week.

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