Conn. man has an unusual message and even says ‘please’

If people in Connecticut are starting to act nicer to each other, they may have Ken Engelman to thank.

He’s the guy planting the “Please Be Kind!” signs that are sprouting up like daffodils all over the state.

They started in Branford, spread into Guilford, East Haven and North Branford, and now they’ve been spotted as far as Waterbury, New London and Hartford.

Not a bad use for old election lawn signs, Engelman, an advertising guy from Branford, thinks.

“When I was volunteering for one of the elections as a poll worker, I went outside on a break and I saw so many lawn signs all around the Branford school that I was in, and I thought, Wow, that’s a lot of garbage after this election is over,” Engelman, 54, said.

“And then I thought to myself, What if we repurpose them? These are miniature billboards. What if we put a positive message on them, and that really is what started this little campaign that’s grown very quickly,” he said.

At first, Branford First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove was reluctant to have them on town property because of the commercial signs that get planted without permission.

“But after the third sign was out there, town officials started calling me, asking me for signs, So we have them on the Branford library property and a bunch of other town properties with approval,” Engelman said.

Next, the Guilford parks and recreation director called, and “it snowballed,” he said.

Engelman had an idea for what to put on the signs that would have been way too many words. Then a friend suggested “Please be kind. That was it,” he said.

“I’m asking, I’m not demanding. I’m not being what some people consider telling them what to do,” he said. “So I added ‘Please be kind.’ And I added the exclamation point, just as a little bit more of an assertive ‘please be kind.’ And it was short and sweet. And it was so simple of a message that the people I asked about it all said, it’s perfect. So I just ran with it.”

Branford’s signs are red because that’s the Branford High School Hornets’ color, so it’s the town color. No politics. In fact, there are two highway bridges that have two signs each: one red, one blue, to make sure no one thinks he’s being political.

So Guilford’s signs are green, North Branford’s are purple. He’s had to look up towns on the internet to find out what their high school colors are.

With the help of volunteers, he’s in Hartford, Waterbury, New London “and most towns in between,” Engelman said. “Those areas have at least one sign. Average is five signs per town.” He estimates there are about 100 around the state so far.

He always asks permission. “We don’t just put them in places,” he said. “We knock on doors and explain the mission. And so far everyone has said, Oh yeah, we need more kindness. Are you kidding me? Go ahead and put it out there.”

“I thought it was a nice idea,” said Sal Esposito, owner of P.S. Fine Stationers on Main Street in Branford. “Now if everybody pays attention to them and follows through, we’ll be all set.”

“People need to be kind at all times. There’s a lot of unkindness in the world,” said Mary Sawicki of Branford.