Founding Board Members

Owner of Nexstar member company, Applewood Plumbing & Heating, Co. was elected the first president of the foundation. John was the spokesperson for the foundation at the Minneapolis Super Meeting. He has been the most passionate to start this charitable organization. John summarizes this opportunity by saying, “Now I have the opportunity to give back to all of those who have given so much to me.”

Owner of Nexstar member company, Broyles Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, Inc., was elected vice president. Keith Broyles had been president of the Nexstar board of directors who is a very successful businessperson. Ward calls Broyles, “the smartest guy I know. He is kind, calm and genius.” Ward likens Broyles to Donald Trump for his mastery of negotiation.

Owner of Nexstar member company, Scottco Service Company, was elected treasurer. Brad is also a former president of the Nexstar board of directors. Another highly successful businessperson who owes much of his success to mentors he met within the Nexstar Network. “Brad’s organizational skills, ethics, vision and big heart will be one of the cornerstones of the Nexstar Legacy Foundation,” describes Ward.

Principal with the law firm, DeWitt Ross & Stevens, was elected secretary. Swartzberg has been the legal council for Nexstar since its inception. He has witnessed firsthand the changes Nexstar has made in members’ lives and has become a strong advocate for the group’s beliefs and sense of purpose. This will be Swartzberg’s way of giving back to an industry that has shown him the power of success through ethics, education and self-help.

Frank Blau Jr. was designated the honorary chairperson of the foundation by the newly elected board of trustees. Frank Blau is a founder of Nexstar and is now retired. He serves as the honorary chairman of the board of Blau Plumbing, Inc. which was acquired by two of his sons.

Greg Niemi was the former President and CEO of Nexstar from Feb 2001 thru Nov 2011 and was the principal founder of the Nexstar Legacy Foundation in 2005.  Greg will forever be known as the visionary of the organization.

After his retirement from Nexstar, Greg continues to give back vis a vis board service, executive coaching and leadership consulting for privately held professional service businesses.  He serves on both non-profit and for-profit boards and of course his favorite board of all being the Nexstar Legacy Foundation.

Greg is passionate about getting the message out about the abundance of opportunities for all professions in our industry.  He feels the opportunity is so understated by so many in our industry.  Greg enjoys career coaching the NexGen of talent and is a great connector of people with opportunities inside and outside our industry.

For more information on Greg visit his profile on Linked In:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregniemi/

Former Vice President of Operations for Nexstar, Marla has the honor of being the 1st staff person hired in 1995 by Executive Director Jack Tester.

Marla is proud to have had a role in the formation of the Legacy Foundation and continues to support its growth.