Pat Rodgers: Lifetime GroundBreaker Award Recipient
GroundBreak Carolinas is honored to spotlight Pat Rodgers, President & CEO of Rodgers Builders, a leading family-owned construction services firm headquartered in Charlotte. She is being recognized for her leadership and achievements in the construction industry and local community with our 2021 Lifetime GroundBreaker Award.
Pat’s energy, business acumen and leadership have enhanced a wide variety of organizations far beyond Rodgers Builders. She has served as chair of the national Construction Industry Roundtable (CIRT), the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, and has been a board member of Foundation for the Carolinas, Charlotte Center City Partners, and many other organizations, including a past Carolinas AGC (CAGC) Board of Directors Chair and the first woman to hold that important post.
Last year, Pat helped Carolinas AGC kick off its Women in Construction themed Buildercast podcast series, “We Were Built for This.” She was among the first guests in CAGC’s informative series of interviews intended to celebrate the success of women in construction. They purposely chose female leaders in the industry who are positive drivers of change, and powerhouses in the industry.
In CAGC’s two-part audio interview with Pat, she discussed the wide-open opportunities our industry offers to anyone willing to work hard and learn the business, with specific advice for women. She also identified technology as one reason our industry can and is attracting more young people. She closed by talking about how important it is for businesses to give back to the community. Pat noted that Rodgers takes pride in building beautiful facilities that help to drive growth in the community. While the company’s tagline reads, “Building is our Passion,” it was clear from the interview that Pat and all Rodgers team members are just as passionate about serving others. For Pat, this includes being a mentor. She credited having passion and never giving up as her key to success, pointing out a favorite quote from Nelson Mandela: “A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.”
“Pat Rodgers is a winner and a dreamer who never gives up, a top leader of the construction industry in the Carolinas and far beyond,” said Dave Simpson, President & CEO of Carolinas AGC. “When I first had the pleasure to meet and work with Pat in 1989 as a Carolinas AGC rising star, she taught me something I try to live by to this day: ‘There’s very little traffic in that extra mile.’”
Pat has received many business and community honors over the years, including North Carolina’s Order of the Longleaf Pine (one of the highest civilian awards in the State of North Carolina), Echo Foundation’s Award Against Indifference, Girl Scouts Hornets’ Nest Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Urban League’s Whitney M. Young Award. Pat has been named Charlotte Woman of the Year, an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® in Real Estate Hospitality and Construction, and Queens University’s Businesswoman of the Year. She has been honored with the Charlotte Business Journal’s Business Person of the Year, and has also received CBJ’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Rodgers is a member of the exclusive group of 2021 GroundBreakers — five individuals who have gone above and beyond to make a difference for the construction community in the Carolinas. To learn more about the GroundBreaker Awards and this year’s winners read our announcement article of August 11, 2021.
