The Brady Nickerson Foundation is a non-profit in memory of Brady Nickerson. All donations are tax-deductible. The Brady Nickerson Foundation’s goal is to keep the memory of Brady Nickerson alive who passed away from pediatric Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) on May 26, 2019, after a month-long battle. The foundation does this by:
- Giving a scholarship to a player to play on the elite Sluggers U team.
- Giving a scholarship to one deserving Glenburn Elementary School 8th grade graduate who displays one or more of the following characteristics: Love of Sports, Kindness, Bravery, Compassion, Community Involvement, and Motivation.
- Helping local rec, school, and little league baseball programs.
- Being a part of cancer awareness and fundraising causes in the local community.
- Helping to fund Osteosarcoma research.
Meet Our Board
Angel and Preston Nickerson
Parents of Brady Nickerson
Preston Nickerson is Brady’s father. He has worked in the printing industry for the last 30 years. He has spent numerous hours volunteering for various youth sports programs in Glenburn. He has coached since his older children were playing sports and still is with his youngest, Trenton. Preston has also volunteered on both the recreation and Little League boards in Glenburn holding various positions. Preston has been a referee and umpire through the local area. Brady’s love of sports and all of the New England sports teams was handed off from his dad. Preston volunteered with Brady’s Sluggers team and was happiest carting him to every single practice, game, and tournament all over New England. Preston is passionate about keeping Brady’s memory alive and helping with cancer awareness projects.
Angel Nickerson is Brady’s mother. She has worked at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center for over 20 years. She has spent the last 8 years as a nursing tech on the pediatrics floor. Angel has been a past volunteer and board member for the Glenburn Recreation and Little League. She has volunteered at the school in both Brady’s and his younger brother Trenton’s classrooms. Angel has volunteered with Brady’s Sluggers team through fundraising efforts to help with travel costs for tournaments. Angel previously volunteered for a local food program along with Brady.
Angel is passionate about keeping Brady’s memory alive and helping with pediatric cancer awareness.
Maurice “Moe” Day
I grew up in the town of Glenburn where I continue to live today. I attended John Bapst Memorial High School and I graduated from the University of Maine at Orono with a degree in Economics. I currently work at Down East Toyota specifically within the wholesale and auction industry where I have grown with the company for more than 27 years.
One of my earliest memories of Brady is when Preston coached my son Andrew’s Glenburn Rec Pee Wee T-Ball team. Preston needed an assistant coach so I offered to help out. I can remember Brady Nickerson as a bright-eyed boy with an enormous swing, I personally saw his love and passion for baseball firsthand at an early age. Preston and I continued to coach Glenburn Recreation soccer and basketball as well as Glenburn Little League together for several years and I have great memories of the time we spent with the kids growing up. I’ve also coached Glenburn travel basketball, served as V.P. of Baseball Operations for Glenburn Little League and I currently serve as the Chairperson for the Glenburn Recreation Committee.
In my spare time I enjoy fishing, woodworking, home improvement projects, cooking on the grill and spending time with my wife of over 20 years; Karen, my kids; Danny, Grace and Andrew, grandson Parker and dog Buddy.
Todd Simcox
Todd grew up in the small town of Medway, Massachusetts. He attended Lyndon State College in Lyndonville, VT where he graduated with a degree in Meteorology. Todd started his career as a Broadcast Meteorologist for FOX 33 in Cadillac, MI in 1999. In 2001, a position opened up at WABI in Bangor so he and his wife, Lee, jumped on the opportunity to move back east and be closer to family and friends. Todd has been the morning and noon meteorologist at WABI for the past 21 years. Todd and his wife, Lee have been married for 21 years and have two children, Connor and Molly. Like many others, Todd and his family met the Nickerson family when Connor and Brady started at the Glenburn School. Connor grew up with Brady, playing several seasons of basketball and baseball together. We all hold those memories near, and dear, to our hearts.
Nick Derba
University of Maine
Head Baseball Coach
Nick Derba is entering his 5th season as the Head Baseball Coach at the University of Maine. A Manhattan College graduate and a member of the 2019 Manhattan College Hall of Fame, Coach Derba joined the Black Bears as an assistant in 2013 after a 6 year professional career in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. He reached as high as Triple A as a catcher with the Cards. Coach Derba has dedicated much of the Black Bears community service endeavors towards the youth of Maine through programs that offer low to no cost options to receive high level instruction as well as competitive play. Additionally, and most importantly, the Black Bears have been a part of various cancer initiatives over the past 4 years. All of these were geared towards fundraising and education. Nick and the Nickerson family were brought together through Brady’s struggle with cancer but more than anything, his love for the game of baseball. “When I heard about Brady from social media and our Athletic communications, I told the team and we got a gift box together as quickly as possible. We knew that time was a luxury and that if he did receive the box, we hoped that it would give him a smile during a time when he might not be experiencing many.” Coach Derba and Angel and Preston Nickerson met the following year at a Black Bear baseball practice and the relationship was created. Nick’s favorite interest is spending time with his wife Megan and son Benjamin. He loves his players, baseball, fishing, the Peloton and lifting. Last, but not least, Nick loves being a Coach, mentor and friend to anyone that he has the chance to coach.
Karl Ward
A native Mainer, Karl grew up in the Katahdin Region and after graduating in 1981 from Schenck High School where he captained his baseball team, he attended and graduated Summa Cum Laude as Valedictorian of the University of Maine College of Engineering with degrees in Civil and Construction Engineering. After marrying his college sweetheart Kathy, they moved to the west coast where she earned her Doctor of Optometry at UC Berkeley. They eventually returned to Maine and Karl joined the construction firm Nickerson & O’Day, Inc. (NOD) in 1993, eventually advancing to President & CEO of the Company in 2006. Over the next 16 years, Karl grew NOD to become one of Maine’s largest constructors, recognized numerous times for its work and safety record. Karl has served on numerous regional community boards and committees including several terms in the Maine State Legislature and has been recognized for his civic work by Husson University, the Bangor Region Leadership Institute, the Bangor YMCA, the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce, the University of Maine, the Dedham School and Holbrook Little League where he coached for 12 years. He was inducted into the Schenck High School Hall of Fame and the UMaine Francis Crowe Engineering Hall of Fame. A lifelong fan of the greatest game ever invented, in 2012 he founded Sluggers Baseball and Softball Training Facility and has been a strong supporter and past General Manager of Motor City American Legion Baseball. He and Kathy have been married 35 years and have three children: Katelyn Ward, MD, a surgeon who lives with her husband Cal Robbins, MD in Birmingham, MI; Ryan Ward who is in his 3rd year at Netter School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University in New Haven, CT; and Braeden Ward who is a Computer Engineering graduate of Duke University in Durham, NC and is pursuing his Masters in Engineering at Duke.
Tim Bush
Ashley Mitchell
Events Coordinator
Ashley Mitchell is the Events Coordinator of the foundation and Brady’s sister. She is the mother of Brady’s five nieces and nephews. She first met her now husband while showing off a new picture of baby Brady right after he was born at her school.
Ashley helps with website and Facebook management. She plans the annual large fishing derby fundraiser in partnership with the Lincoln Events and Tourism Committee in Lincoln, ME.
Ashley also serves as secretary of the Lincoln Events and Tourism Committee, vice president of the Friends of the Lincoln Memorial Library, sits of the Lincoln Memorial Library Advisory Committee, is a Relay for Life team captain, participates in numerous charity walks, and is a Quest Club scout leader.
Every year Ashley’s daughter, Brady’s niece, does the ACCO Pjammin’ for kids with Cancer on her birthday. Every year Quest Club does a lemonade stand for Alex’s Lemonade Stand week at the Lincoln Memorial Library. Anything that can be done to help the cause and keep Brady’s memory alive, her family will be there.
Irv Marsters
Irv Marsters is retired after nearly 40 years as President of Bangor Letter Shop, a commercial printing and mailing service in Bangor where Brady’s father, Preston, was employed for 25 years. A graduate of the University of Maine with a Masters Degree in Political Science, he is one of the founders of the University Credit Union and the Orrington/Holden-based 19th Century Curran Village, a 501c(3) non-profit corporation. Irv’s employment since 1963 has centered on capacity building and organization development in both public and private sectors. His volunteer activities have focused on financial development assignments for Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce, Pine Tree Chapter, American Red Cross, March of Dimes, Friends of UMaine Hockey and Baseball and Bangor Region Junior Achievement’s Economic Education Program for K thru 12 youth in area schools.
As a former Little League pitcher , he watched and applauded Brady’s outstanding pitching and batting skills and accomplishments.
Brandon Portwine
President of Sluggers
Brandon finished his playing career at the University of Maine in
1993-1995 and then began his coaching career at Stearns High School.
He was the Assistant Coach at Stearns from 2005-2006 and became the Head Coach from 2007-2012. In 2005 Brandon started out as an Assistant Coach with the American Legion Northern Lumber and in 2011 became the Head Coach of the Northern Lumber until 2013. In 2014, he was an Assistant Coach for both the American Legion State Champions, the Bangor Comrades and the American Junior Legion State Champions, the Bangor Cadets.
Following his successful high school coaching career, Brandon spent 7
years on staff at Husson University, where he was an Assistant and
First Base Coach, he also served as the Assistant Director of
Facilities.
Currently, Brandon is the Owner and President at Sluggers, where he
provides one on one instruction and coaches a travel team. Brandon
also oversees the entire operation and handles accounting.
Amanda Butterfield, CPA
Treasurer
Amanda serves as the Treasurer of the Brady Nickerson Foundation. She first met Brady and his family when her son, Brandon, started kindergarten with Brady at the Glenburn School. Brandon and Brady had similar interests and played baseball, basketball and soccer together through town recreation and school sports. Brady will forever be a part of the Butterfield family memories of the nine years the boys spent coming up through the Glenburn School.
Amanda graduated from Husson University. She and her husband, David, own Tradewinds Marketplace in Milo, Maine and Tim Hortons in Clinton, Maine. Before joining David in running the day-to-day operations of their businesses, Amanda spent 19 years working in public accounting at BerryDunn, where she specialized in financial statement and federal/state grant auditing and consulting for large not-for-profit organizations. She has previously served as Treasurer of United Way of Eastern Maine and Good Samaritan Agency.
Brady Nickerson Foundation 