Aaron Henderson Memorial Softball Tournament this weekend

by Staff Pioneer Times
11 years ago

The second annual Aaron Henderson Memorial Softball Tournament will be held this weekend at Community Park.
The opening ceremony will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, with guest speaker United States Marine Corps Major David Cote of the Summit Project.
This year the 10-team tournament hopes to draw a large number of spectators. Last year’s inaugural event was a smashing success, with the Maine Merchants crowned champions at the end of the three days.
The softball tournament is organized by Brad Fredericks, with all proceeds from the tournament going to the Wounded Warrior Project in Henderson’s name. Henderson, a sergeant first class in the Army and a Special Forces soldier from Hodgdon, was killed by an improvised explosive device in October, 2012 while serving his country in Afghanistan.
The Wounded Warrior Project received $3,300 in honor of Aaron.
Fredericks said he had to do something to honor a great friend. He has continued this quest again this year, emailing businesses and social networking to request raffle items. The raffle items will be available at 9 a.m. on Saturday until the last game of the night at 8:30. Winners will be drawn on Sunday.
Scott Sjoberg, a close friend of Henderson’s, said these words a year ago, “all of you gathering are a testament to how great of a guy Aaron was. He was a great soldier, son, uncle, brother and friend to so many.”
The healing process, which began at Henderson’s funeral, came about through stories and laughter of great memories.
“We tried to think of a way that could bring us together for many years to come,” he said.
Sjoberg not only noted losing Henderson was a blow to the community, but so was experiencing the loss of others like Sgt. First Class Jonathan Lowry, Specialist Dustin Harris and First Lieutenant James Zimmerman.
“Let’s never forget the sacrifices our brothers and sisters in uniform make for the freedoms that we enjoy today,” Sjoberg added.
A large, patriotic trophy stays on permanent display at the John Millar Civic Center.