Personal
In 1987, Rodgers was described by The New York Times as "a leading candidate to head the Department of Commerce" to succeed Malcolm Baldrige, Jr., a post that ultimately went to William Verity Jr.
Rodgers was named to serve as chairman and acting CEO of Berlitz International, following the mysterious death of former part-owner Robert Maxwell in 1991. He also served as a director of several major corporations and was active in a number of local civic, charitable and religious organizations.
He was fundraising co-chair for Fred Thompson's 2008 presidential campaign bid.
Rodgers died at age 75 on February 2, 2009 of cancer. He was survived by his wife, Helen Martin "Honey" Rodgers, to whom he had been married for 52 years, as well as a daughter, a son and eight grandchildren.
Read more about this topic: Joe M. Rodgers
Famous quotes containing the word personal:
“The white man regards the universe as a gigantic machine hurtling through time and space to its final destruction: individuals in it are but tiny organisms with private lives that lead to private deaths: personal power, success and fame are the absolute measures of values, the things to live for. This outlook on life divides the universe into a host of individual little entities which cannot help being in constant conflict thereby hastening the approach of the hour of their final destruction.”
—Policy statement, 1944, of the Youth League of the African National Congress. pt. 2, ch. 4, Fatima Meer, Higher than Hope (1988)
“Picture the prince, such as most of them are today: a man ignorant of the law, well-nigh an enemy to his people’s advantage, while intent on his personal convenience, a dedicated voluptuary, a hater of learning, freedom and truth, without a thought for the interests of his country, and measuring everything in terms of his own profit and desires.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)