DICKINSON — Altruism comes in all forms, and often it shows up silently and without any need for attention or recognition. Laysen Brostowitz and Jude Hicks noticed a racial slur on a sign at Gress Softball Complex and promptly took action, scrubbing it clean without seeking attention. However, their good deed didn’t go unnoticed, as a neighbor captured their act of kindness on camera. The photo would lead to recognition from Parks & Recreation Board President Scott Karsky and nominations from Jo Marie Kadrmas and Dickinson Parks & Recreation Executive Director Benjamin Rae.
“Really, what we would like to see from the community is that if you see a need then address it,” Rae said. “I think the boys really epitomized that and they saw that there was a problem and knew it needed to be corrected and they took action and I think we can all do that.”
Initially, the Parks & Recreation Department offered Brostowitz and Hicks free memberships at the West River Community Center for a year, but as the two already were members they offered to donate the donation to another person in yet-another altruistic act. In the meantime, Brostowitz’s mother, Lacy Vanderlaan, said similar vulgar graffiti and slurs were found at Dakota Community Bank & Trust Ballpark and the Big Sticks offered tickets and team gear to the boys if they were interested in cleaning the sign there, too.
Photo courtesy of Lacy Vanderlaan
“It makes me proud, because they took the initiative and know that not only is it not right but he (Laysen) was affected by it even though it wasn’t directed towards him,” Vanderlaan said. “It means a lot to me just because I feel like it’s a good reflection of my parenting, and him having a good heart makes me proud to know he has the heart that he does and wants to help and clean up.”
“She added, “Not only that, but to take it from a personal standpoint: It’s to make our city cleaner and to want to keep it clean.”
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Vanderlaan’s husband, former Dickinson State University track & field standout Keith Vanderlaan, is black and Brostowitz’s younger siblings — Zakai, Xavier and Kree Kilby — are interracial, which made the ugliness of the slurs even more intolerable for Brostowitz. The process wasn’t a quick fix, and the young men spent the better part of a weekend afternoon removing the red spray paint in question.
“I did it out of the goodness of my heart and it took us about two hours; it was me and Jude and his Dad helped us with some supplies,” Brostowitz said. “It means a lot to me to be on the news and everything and in the paper.”
Brostowitz, 13, said his favorite subject in school is math and has an interest in art. “He likes to draw,” Mrs. Vanderlaan said.
According to the Parks & Recreation Board, they recognized the youths during a recent meeting, saying, “The Park Board of the City of Dickinson extends its heartfelt appreciation to Jude Hicks and Laysen Brostowitz for their exceptional service to the community. Your swift response in addressing offensive graffiti exemplifies a commitment to preserving the beauty and integrity of our shared spaces. We understand that your actions were driven by a genuine desire to make a positive impact, rather than seeking recognition. Your selflessness serves as an inspiration to us all. We encourage you to continue looking for opportunities to serve whether recognized or not. Thank you.”
“I think the important message in this is that they didn’t do this for recognition; they did this because they knew it was the right thing to do and they got caught doing something good,” Rae said. “What I’d like to see is good acts like these become so commonplace that we don’t see them as an amazing; we see them as just what we do to be a part of the community.”
Karsky offered similar levels of appreciation for the young men’s selflessness, adding, “These two young gentlemen stepped up and said, ‘We want to go clean that up,’ and it offended them; you don’t see that very often and it just made our day. We (the board) were sitting around talking about it and it’s just so cool that these two kids really did this and they weren’t expecting anything out of it and that’s kind of a rare thing … they just did it to be good people.”
Dickinson Parks & Recreation Board Commissioner Jo Marie Kadrmas was the person initially contacted by the neighbor who noticed the graffiti and the hard-working youths, and she not only immediately contacted Rae about the situation but later ensured Brostowitz and Hicks were honored during the board’s Monday, April 8 meeting in the form of a plaque recognizing their efforts, along with some other gifts from the Parks & Recreation Department.
“I just really feel that with so many negative things in our world that this was something we should reach out to these boys and commend them for taking action on their own without any prompting and without any awards promised, just to do something good,” Kadrmas said. “It was an act that deserved recognition beyond just a phone call and some public recognition for working on their own with their own good motives to do something good for the community.”
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Gaylon is a sportswriter from Jensen Beach, Fla., but has lived all over the world. Growing up with an athletic background gave him a love of sports that led to a journalism career in such places as Enid, Okla., Alamogordo, N.M., Pascagoula, Miss. and Viera, Fla. since 1998. His main passion is small-town community sports, particularly baseball and soccer.