Players come together to make first softball tourney a success for Wounded Warrior Project
HOULTON, Maine — The inaugural Aaron Henderson Memorial Softball Tournament was a smashing success over the weekend. Ten teams competed in the event, with the Maine Merchants crowned champions at the end of the three-day tourney.
Organized by Brad Fredericks, all proceeds from the tournament went 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.
A ceremony was held Saturday morning, with members of Henderson’s family in attendance. His niece and nephew — Mia and Daniel, children of Sam and Kiley Henderson — threw out the first pitch. Scott Sjoberg, a close friend and teammate of Henderson’s in the men’s softball league for many years, addressed the crowd.
“If you look around you will see so many people here today,” Sjoberg said. “It shows how many lives our good friend Aaron Henderson touched along the way. 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.”
Sjoberg said the healing process has been a long hard road that began at Henderson’s funeral last October.
“We realized (at the funeral) how comforting and healing it was to be together to share stories and laughs of great memories of our friend,” he said. “We tried to think of a way that could bring us together for many years to come.”
It was suggested at that time that a softball tournament could be both healing and helpful in raising money for the Wounded Warriors at the same time. Henderson also loved playing softball.
“Losing Aaron back in October hit all of us very hard,” Sjoberg said. “The little community that most of us still call home has experienced great loss, including Sgt. First Class Jonathan Lowry, Specialist Dustin Harris, First Lieutenant James Zimmerman. Let’s never forget the sacrifices our brothers and sisters in uniform make for the freedoms that we enjoy today.”
A large, patriotic trophy was unveiled with Henderson’s photo on it. That trophy will be on permanent display at the John Millar Civic Center.
