Gary Heiserman, left, and 15-year-old Lucas fly model airplanes Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007 at Jayhawk Model Masters below Clinton Lake Dam.

Ten years ago Gary Heiserman met Lucas,15, through Big Brothers Big Sisters. When Lucas was five-years-old, he became interested in a paper airplane Heiserman made. Ten years later, they're the longest standing brother pair in Lawrence and are flying gas-fueled model planes.

Gary Heiserman, left, and 15-year-old Lucas fly model airplanes Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007 at Jayhawk Model Masters below Clinton Lake Dam.

Ten years ago, a folded paper airplane launched a unique Douglas County Big Brothers and Big Sisters match that has become the longest commitment in the agency’s history.

Big Brother Gary Heiserman, 53, of Lawrence officially paired with Little Brother Luke in 1997, when Luke was 5 years old. The BBBS, a national youth mentoring volunteer-based organization, recently recognized their anniversary.

Heiserman clearly recalls the day he met the boy who has become like his son.

He was sitting in a lawn chair doing paperwork between his daughter’s fast-pitch softball games when Luke walked up to him and asked him to play.

The moment was remarkable in Luke’s mother’s eyes, who requested her name not be used for privacy.

The single mother of three said Luke had been “stand-offish” with men and for him to approach an adult male was overwhelming.

With a few pieces of paper in his lap, Heiserman decided to fold a paper airplane to entertain him. The airplane did more than just entertain Luke, though; it unfolded into the beginning of a trusting relationship.

“It’s awesome,” Luke, now a high school sophomore, said of their match. “It’s weird because you don’t really hang out with someone that long, like your best friend. You normally hang out with your best friend for three years or so.”

Being with Heiserman also has given him the opportunity to experience various activities that he might not otherwise have been able to. They attend professional baseball and soccer games, shoot BB guns, and build and fly remote-control airplanes with the Jayhawk Model Masters Club. Luke is the club’s youngest member.

When Heiserman taught Luke to fly remote-control planes, he used an electronic “buddy cord” so he could help Luke recover his plane if it swooped too close to the ground. Once Luke mastered flying the plane, Heiserman unplugged the cord.

“He told me to hang on to it and said, ‘When you get too old to fly by yourself I’ll buddy-cord you,'” Heiserman said. “That’s when I knew I was his friend,” not just a mentor, he said.

Heiserman also has helped him in school, especially with reading. He prompted Luke to read by sharing airplane magazines.

“He would read them cover to cover,” Heiserman said.

As Luke has grown older and become more involved with sports, driving and girls, they have spent less time together. Luke said when they do hang out, which is usually every couple of weeks, it’s for longer periods of time.

Whether they are together or not, Luke always keeps in mind some of Heiserman’s words of wisdom: “If there’s a will, there’s a way.”

“If I’m in a tough spot, I just have to put my mind to it and think it through,” he said.

Luke also has affected Heiserman.

For eight years he worked with Lawrence youth through the Junior Achievement program, but he said the one-to-one interaction has been much more fulfilling.

“I’ve learned how little effort it takes to make a big impact on someone’s life,” Heiserman said.

Their 10-year anniversary exceeds most matches at the Douglas County BBBS. Becky Price, northeast Kansas regional director, said the average local match lasts about 28 months.

Luke’s mother said she knew Heiserman and her son would be “lifelong buddies.”

“Gary and his family have become Lucas’ extended family,” she said. “Lucas is secure with that so it has been a very good thing.”