Hometown News and Views

By Phyllis J. Neuberger
Pelican staff
Roy Rogers is a very approachable, modest man whose amazing business career, can be challenged only by the very long list of his contributions to the community. When the Pelican sat down with Rogers to talk about receiving the Stewart Kester Award for his lifetime of achievements, he pops a picture of his family on his I-phone and says, “This is my family.  They define me.  Mandy and I have three sons and one daughter, nine grandsons and four granddaughters.  Counting spouses there are 23 of us and we’re all  within 25 minutes of each other.”
He continues, “Every Wednesday we get together.  Mandy cooks for at least 25 people because the kids always bring along one or two strays.  I bake 11 loaves of bread every week.  We do the cooking, but our team does the clean up.  Thirty minutes after they’ve all gone home, Mandy, our dog Aby and I are tucked into bed.  We’ve been married for 51 years and we know we are blessed to be able to enjoy this chapter of our lives.”
Roger’s Career
Rogers is a high school dropout who enlisted in the Navy, earned his G.E.D. and kept applying to the U.S. Naval Academy until he was accepted. He says, “I graduated in 1960 with an engineering degree. Part of a navigation team, I  boarded one of the first ships put to sea with a nuclear reactor on board. I lived through long submersions, 2 and l/2 miles from the top of the world—the North Pole.  We were a deterrent to the Soviet Union in case we needed to retaliate at their first strike.  We were blessed that it never came.”
After 12 years in the military, Rogers returned to land in order to spend more time with his family.  A second career in golf course design and construction began.  He says, “This job took me all over the world and although I loved it, once again I missed my family and looked for a local opportunity.”
And what he found became his legacy and career for 15 years.  Rogers, as Senior Vice President of Arvida, became a major part of the team that developed the 10,500 acre planned, mixed-use community of Weston.  With a hint of pride, he says, “This city is the creation of a world class team. Weston continues to be a very successful community for the residents and the businesses.  In fact it is the number one in the nation for retaining property values.  It has the internal capabilities to maintain parks, schools and all amenities at the level we intended.  The city deserves the credit for the high standard of living enjoyed by the residents.”
Rogers and the community
At the end of this month, Rogers will be in Tallahassee as a volunteer member of a collective group focusing on Florida’s water supply.  He will be attending a meeting of all environmental groups to announce the formation of this organization under the leadership of Governor Bob Graham.
Rogers has been both a financial supporter of and a dirt digging volunteer for the Sample McDougald House.  “I wanted to see a butterfly garden as part of my identity, and it is now in place,” he says.  “And my windmill is installed.  It’s just symbolic now, but in the future I hope it will be a resource for either or  both water and electricity.
He is currently serving as Chair of the Commission on Ethics, by appointment of the Governor.  He is past chair of the Fair Campaign Practice Committee of Broward, The Nature Conservancy, Broward Days and Broward Alliance.  He has served on the Pompano Beach Economic Development  Board for over a decade and has been a member of the Mayor’s Stimulus Task Force.
With his easy smile, he admits that “controlling my time and energy is my biggest challenge because I succumb too quickly to those who reach out for my help. Balance is the solution and I work at that every day.  My goal is to enjoy the next chapter.  My reward in life is passing it on.”
Congratulations and thank you Roy Rogers for what you’ve done and for what you continue to do for your community.