Meet Mike Vance... No, the other Mike Vance

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It’s rare to meet someone with your same name. It’s even more rare to meet them when you live states away.

Mike Vance—Seward’s new sheriff—recently met “the Minnesota Mike Vance” after the two connected via Facebook during the Seward Vance’s election campaign in September.

“He posted something on Facebook showing one of my election signs in his yard in Minnesota,” the Seward Vance said. “I was curious how he got the sign. I messaged him back and we talked a couple times back and forth.”

For Minnesota Vance, it began with a mysterious prank.

“The sign showed up in my yard unexpectedly in mid-September,” he said.

He had ridden his bike to a local park in Rochester to coach soccer and returned to find the sign, which he said looked too real to be something his co-workers had cobbled together.

“I found the Citizens for Mike Vance Facebook page, and I had to think which of my friends were from Nebraska,” he said.

It turns out, his friend Ryan Cradick has parents who live in Utica, and Vance just happened to be coaching Cradick’s son at soccer that day.

But the chance encounter didn’t stop with a prank “Mike Vance for Sheriff” sign.

Minnesota Vance took it a step further, dressing up as Sheriff Vance for Halloween.

“Me and my friends had played along with ‘Mike Vance for Sheriff’ stuff, so I thought it would be kind of funny,” he said.

He posted a photo on Facebook with him in uniform, complete with cowboy hat and badge.

“I had to laugh at that,” Seward Vance said.

The Vances took it a step further, with Minnesota Vance contacting Sharon Dickinson, Seward Vance’s campaign manager, to tell her that they wanted to come to Seward for the swearing in ceremony once Vance was elected.

“It’s six hours and 20 minutes in a car to Rochester,” Minnesota Vance said. “Jan. 3 was my birthday, so that was my excuse for convincing my family to come with me. My wife was not super enthused through the whole thing.”

Jan. 3 happened to be the date of Seward Vance’s swearing in.

“I was shocked that it was his birthday when he was out here,” Seward Vance said.

So, as one of his first moves as the new sheriff, Vance administered an oath to Minnesota Vance, his wife, Katie, and their three sons, Jack, 7, Parker, 5, and Evan, 2, making them all honorary deputies.

“That was one of the coolest parts of our trip. Sheriff Mike surprised us by swearing us all in. It was kind of special,” Minnesota Vance said.

The family got to meet and spoil Igor, Vance’s K-9 partner.

There was even a cake with their name on it.

The Minnesota Vances made the most of their trip, stopping in Waterloo, Iowa, to visit Katie’s family, visiting the Omaha Zoo and even trying a Runza.

“That was an experience in itself,” Vance laughed.

When he’s not fulfilling his duties as an honorary deputy, Minnesota Vance works as a computer engineer for IBM.

“I’d like to thank Sheriff Mike for being so hospitable to us, and Sharon. They were both a lot of fun to hang out with. We enjoyed our trip to Nebraska,” he said.

emily@sewardindependent.com