Major donation made in Brandstetter’s honor

A special moment of gratitude and recognition took place as Steve Wild, President of the Charles E. Lakin Foundation, presented a $30,000 donation to the Montgomery County Family YMCA in honor of Larry Brandstetter, who was Wild’s high school debate coach when Brandstetter taught in Fremont, Neb., Wild said the donation is a tribute to Brandstetter’s life-changing impact on him more than six decades ago.
Wild added he grew up in a poor, uneducated family and unknowingly struggled with grammar and punctuation as a high school sophomore. Brandstetter, Wild said, saw his potential. Rather than letting barriers hold Wild back, Brandstetter took extra time after school for weeks, helping Wild refine his speech, correct bad habits, and develop strong communication skills.
“What he did may have seemed small at the time, but for me, it changed everything. Without his guidance and dedication, I might never have had the opportunities I’ve had in life. His belief in me helped shape my future,” said Wild. “Outside of regular school hours, he would have me come in every night. He’d be there night after night for weeks with a recorder to have me speak into a recorder so I could hear it myself.And then he would repeat it back to me how I should say things. I did end up being a pretty good debater and had a lot of success in college because of my speaking, and then throughout my business career. And I know had it not been for his help, I’d have had a much different trajectory, and I’m not sure I would have had the success I had.”
Shortly after that, Wild said, he ended up losing touch with Brandstetter for a long time.
“I had no idea what happened to Larry, because all I remember was a year or two after I graduated from high school, he left, and I didn’t know where he went, and I hadn’t heard from him since. Then when I came to Red Oak for a meet and greet three months ago, part of the whole REvitalize Southwest Iowa, I had the opportunity to see him again, giving me an opportunity as an adult to really thank him for everything he did,” commented Wild.
Wanting to give back in a meaningful way, Wild said he chose to honor Brandstetter’s impact by supporting the Montgomery County Family YMCA, a place dedicated to education, development, and community strengthening.
“This $30,000 donation is about more than money. It’s about recognizing someone who made a difference when I needed it the most. Larry Brandstetter’s commitment to his students continues to have a ripple effect, even decades later,” stated Wild. “I want him to be remembered as an important part of the community and recognized; well, teachers just never get enough recognition, and he deserves it.”
Brandstetter also spoke, thanking Wild for the kind words and for honoring him in that way.
“I really do appreciate it so much. I taught for four years in Fremont, and so those were my first four years of teaching. You came as a sophomore, you came in during my second year at Fremont and then graduated. And by the way, he and his colleague went on to the state tournament in their senior year and were runner-up at the state tournament. What an honor to be able to coach them to that success. Their skills were just really good,” Brandstetter explained.
While touched that Wild made such a gesture, Brandstetter said he didn’t feel he had gone above and beyond.
 That’s what teachers do. Teachers teach kids, teach students, they teach the individual. The first thing you do is you recognize what are the impediments that a student is going to have, and you start working on that whenever you can,” advised Brandstetter. “That’s the way many teachers do the work, they take a look at the individual and teach the individual, not teach the subject, but teach the individual how their subject can improve their lives. I didn’t do anything that I thought was outstanding. Steve had a need, and we worked on that. Sometimes as teachers you don’t know what impacts a person’s life until years later. And that’s exactly what I learned from Steve.”
Brandstetter said he had an inkling that Wild might be his former student after seeing his name with the Lakin Foundation.
“I wondered, is that the same Steve Wild that I had in class years ago? That kind of went in my mind, and then when I heard he was being brought to Red Oak to discuss the Lakin Foundation’s involvement in improving Southwest Iowa in a major way, I said to the organizers, ‘I’m going to be at the FiveOne8 building, when you meet Steve and you bring him around to introduce him to all of the local players, would you just kind of bring him by me? And he was, and it was very heartwarming to me, and I think to you too, to be able to meet each other again,” Brandstetter stated.
Brandstetter added he felt the $30,000 donation to the YMCA in his honor was the perfect gift.
“I think you’ll find that our Y and some of the other amenities that we have are so outstanding for a community of 5,400 people to say, let’s build something for a long future of our community to make our community a better place to live, to grow your families, and work,” Brandstetter said. “This is unique in a town of 5,400, and it’s now 25 years old. This really sets a community the size of Red Oak apart, and with the tennis center that we have,  it’s really just quite an experience for people. It’s a wonderful facility. It is a great facility, and it’s been well kept. They have a nice endowment that’s helping them move forward. And we really have to thank a lot of people from all walks of life who come in here and people in all walks of life who have given to the endowment to keep it moving forward in the future.
The $30,000 gift will go towards the endowment and support the YMCA’s programs that empower youth and foster education, ensuring that Brandstetter’s legacy of mentorship and encouragement lives on in the next generation. YMCA executive director Carrie Shalters said the endowment was key.
“I would say that in the last couple years, especially, the endowment has really kind of helped, since 2020 and COVID. Things have kind of changed program-wise a little bit. Our membership changed significantly there. We’re picking back up again, but  that endowment really does get us through those difficult times,” commented Shalters. “I just feel like I’m the steward of this, you know. These two gentlemen made this happen. I was like a little kid at Christmas thinking, oh my gosh, look at this, what we’re getting. It’s so wonderful to have people in our community that have done things that foster these sorts of things and make them happen. Larry’s wife Faye was my first grade reading teacher. So there’s all these connections.”
Shalters presented Brandstetter with a certificate, and he was given a place on the wall which lists the endowment contributions that will honor Brandstetter. It will talk about how the YMCA received the donation to its endowment from the Lakin Foundation to honor him
“The certificate says, in honor of Larry Brandcenter, we’d like to thank you for creating an opportunity for the Montgomery County Family YMCA to receive a $30,000 grant to the YMCA Endowment Fund from the Lakin Foundation by Lakin Foundation President Steve Wild,” stated Shalters.
Wild closed by saying the donation also served as a powerful reminder of the lasting impact teachers can have, and the importance of expressing gratitude to those who help shape kids’ lives.