The afternoon of June 13^th, 2019 will be one of those days that may echo for years to come.  The first ever “Signing Day” took place at the Lord Fairfax Community College campus in Vint Hill.  The room buzzed with excitement as eight graduating high school students from Fauquier and Prince William County signed letters of intent with four HCCA member firms.  The first of its kind program included a nationally recognized curriculum and heavy equipment simulator training for graduating seniors.  The success of this program had many in the audience beaming with excitement about this future path of education.                

SW Rodgers is proud to be one of the inaugural companies that participated in hiring this years’ class of students.  Not only are we proud to support the young adults graduating from our local communities, but we are extremely excited about the two individuals that choose SW Rodgers as their career path.  Hunter Key and Bradley Tavener (pictured below) signed letters of intent with us and will begin their careers here in the coming days.

The success of this class of students is also attributable to their instructor.  Josh Allen has been instructing the Heavy Operators Training Course at LFCC for the past couple years.  Josh is a long-time employee of SWR and future leader of this company.   Hunter and Brad are certainly better equipped to tackle the demands of the jobsite after training with Josh over the past semester.  We look forward to seeing these two students grow on the jobsite and wish them much success on their new career paths.  Welcome to the team!

The office is closed today due to inclement weather

11/21/18

On Saturday November 3^rd some amazing accomplishments were celebrated.  It was the night of the 2018 Orange & Black Club dinner celebration at the Brass Cannon Restaurant, located at Stonewall Golf Club.  On this evening three new inductees joined the 35-year club: Tony Paige, Marty Chipps and Cecil Summerfield.  This accomplishment recalls too many valuable contributions and accolades to mention, but it also brings to mind something just as important, “Family.”  In this day and age, it seems rare to truly enjoy being around your co-workers, working together to accomplish a goal and to wake up the next day eagerly challenged to do it again.  These men and women are the reason why some of us come to work daily.  It could be a brotherhood, a feeling of accountability or even of family that drives us to accomplish the shared goal.  Those feelings can be hard to find on the jobsite and when they are found they should be acknowledged and celebrated.  So began the Orange and Black Club.

35-year recipients Tony Paige, Rickey Lee and Marty Chipps celebrate with Steve and Reta Rodgers

The Orange & Black Club celebrates the accomplishment of commitment and dedication in years of service.  The recipients joining the 30-year club in 2018 include the following members: Jeff Whiting, Bryan Hyre, Andrew Breeden, Kevin Ratcliff, Robert Payne, TG Morris, Bruce Simpson, Randy Whiting, Tony Given and Rickey Custer.  These 10 individuals join a group that now stands at 25 long-service achievers.

30-year Orange & Black Club members gather for a group shot before dinner

Similarly as impressive, the 2018 25-year inductees include the following individuals: Roy Beckner, Susan Martin, Bill Lackman, Miriam Pearson, Chris Dickerson, Rigoberto Martinez, Brian Stup and Wayne Lane.  This group joins a club that now stands at 27 strong.

25-year Club members pose for a picture at the 2018 Orange & Black Club annual dinner

Following the individual tributes received and several personal anecdotes from the recipients about their professional lives, the newly inducted achievers were honored and presented a gift from the company.  Dinner was served, and the evening was filled with lively stories, hugs and handshakes reminiscent of a large family Thanksgiving feast.  SW Rodgers Company sends out a heartfelt “Thank You” for the continued commitment to all those that we call family.  May you and your loved ones be blessed this holiday season.

 4/27/18

Wednesday, April 18^th, 2018 was a night of reflection and celebration for S.W. Rodgers.  On that night SWR’s pipe crew foreman Steve Feagans was honored in front of a packed crowd of industry members as he was awarded the HCCA’s 2018 Crisis Management Award.  The S.W. Rodgers family is extremely proud of Steve for using his training to control an emergency situation.  Steve’s calm demeanor helped get medical attention to those in need quickly and he followed it up with controlling the scene to best serve the individuals and entities involved.  Steve listened and learned when taught the safety program at SWR and when he was called into action he executed flawlessly.  Steve’s display of action was extremely worthy of the award bestowed to him and we should all feel even safer when working alongside Mr. Feagans.  Congratulation Steve, you are a most worthy recipient and we thank you for your continued dedication.

SWR’s trucking program was also honored for its continued excellence.  We have some of the safest and best drivers in the industry.  S.W. Rodgers is proud of our entire fleet of drivers and we value the impact their safety has to our continued company success.

For the third consecutive year, S.W. Rodgers has won an “Excellence in Infrastructure” award.  We may need to confirm some statistical data, but our records indicate that three in a row is a record for consecutive wins.  Our Tanglewood North project was this year’s recipient.  Mike Carroll, Senior Project Manager from Van Metre, was our guest to help receive this year’s honors.  Although there was some stiff competition, Tanglewood North prevailed as the winner due to its challenges overcome, fast paced schedule and overall appeal.  Our industry peers have proven once again that S.W. Rodgers consistently deserves recognition for our continued workmanship, dedication to detail and overall quality.  Congratulations to the SWR team that helped win this award; Superintendent Timmy Ratcliff, Foreman Jimmy Fansler and Foreman Lindsay Jenkins.

10/31/17

Softball

Congratulations to the S.W. Rodgers/CP&P softball team for winning the 2017 HCCA Summer Softball League.  This was the first year that SWR participated in the league.  The league has been active for the past four years with Superior/Vulcan winning every year. SWR’s team put together an impressive 19-1 regular season record before moving onto the playoffs. Over the course of two weeks, SWR’s team beat a Vulcan/Superior team and an Anderson team twice to bring home the championship.  Team members included: Bryan Kniceley, Andrew Byrd, Joe Swope, Austin Rodgers, Shawn Herrell, Jesse Fansler, Brandon Riley, Eddie Putnam, Chris Rodgers, Wayne Haight, T.J. Rodgers, P.J. Heflin, Evan Scott, Chad Mozingo, Hunter Ball, Michael Kniceley and Donnie Forgacs.

Golf

The HCCA’s 2017 President Cup belongs to the S.W. Rodgers/Fortiline team this year.  The event took place at Lansdowne Country Club on September 15^th.  Team members from SWR included Kurt Rodgers and Rick Long.  The members from Fortiline included Chad Mozingo and Rich Leeper.

The 2017 Eastern Invitational 1^st place trophy belongs to SWR’s team this year as well.  The team consisted of Joe Swope, TJ Rodgers, Kris Bishop and Andrew Byrd.  The tournament was held this past July at Westfields Golf Club.

Skeet Shooting

SWR entered a sporting clays competition this past fall held at Shady Grove Sporting Clays in Remington Virginia.  The team which consisted of Richard (Bear) Walker, Randy (Hulk) Whiting, John Harmon, George Cline and Pat Jenkins placed third overall.  John Harmon won an individual trophy for “Long Run ”.  Congratulations guys!

 

 

 

Announcement

Orange and Black Club has Three New Inductees

Please join us in congratulating three new members of the S.W. Rodgers Company “Orange and Black Club”.  We are appreciative and thankful for all the wonderful employees who make this company a family, and in that spirit, the Orange and Black Club was established to honor S. W. Rodgers employees who have achieved a remarkable 25 years or more of service.  This year we inducted three additional employees who have met this milestone.  Our 2017 inductees joined forty-eight other employees at a dinner in their honor at Stonewall Golf Club on November 4^th.  This year’s inductees are:

 

Ray Allen, Charlie Workman and Doug Caldwell.  Congratulations Gentlemen!

 

Our 30 years of service recognition award will be given to Ron Boch, Sammy Clegg, Jimmy Green, James Pell, and Joey Ratcliff followed by Rickey Lee who received an award for his 35 years of service!

 

Again, thank you to every employee who makes this a special place to work and for keeping the company going strong year after year making these awards possible.

 

2017 ORANGE AND BLACK CLUB MEMBERS

35+ YEARS
STEVEN W RODGERS
RETA C RODGERS
DAVID R JUDY
RICKEY D LEE
30+ YEARS
ANTHONY L PAIGE
MARTY B CHIPPS
CECIL W SUMMERFIELD
P KURT RODGERS
PAUL W BURKE
JOSEPH W MOORE
LOUIS P GRAY
BARRY  MCCLENAHEN
RICHARD W LONG
WILL R HEMPERLEY
DAVID A BURNS
GEORGE A CLINE
WAYNE S ENNIS
SAM B CLEGG
JOSEPH M RATCLIFF
JAMES G GREEN SR
RONALD  BOCH
25+ YEARS
JEFFERY R WHITING
BRYAN J HYRE
ANDREW H BREEDEN
KEVIN W RATCLIFF
ROBERT W PAYNE
THEODORE G MORRIS
D BRUCE SIMPSON
RANDY J WHITING
ANTON  GIVEN
RICKEY A CUSTER
RICHARD S WALKER SR
GERMAN A REYES
JEFFREY S WARREN
ROBERT B ENNIS SR
RAYMOND E SULLIVAN SR
THOMAS D SULLIVAN SR
THOMAS W RODGERS
GERARDO E CORRALES
TIMOTHY J WASHINGTON
CHRIS J JONES
DAVID P GROGG
DANIEL L WILFONG
RUSSELL QUESENBERRY
NEALL W CASE
OCTAVIO J SERNA
JAMES R FANSLER
RICHARD G BUSHLOW
CHARLES B WORKMAN
DOUGLAS B CALDWELL

10/27/17

Seven SWR company representatives recently took part in an open house event at Lord Fairfax Community College’s Vint Hill Campus.  The event was held to introduce the new “Heavy Equipment Operators Course” which will be offered this winter at the LFCC campuses.  The course is an effort to combat the shortage of equipment operators that our industry currently faces.  LFCC has been able to secure state grant money to start the new course and to purchase two new Vortex simulator machines.  The simulators were tested by many at the open house event and provided a lot of buzz among our industry friends.  Both Tom Rodgers and Chuck Rodgers took the time to try out the simulators.  The creation of the program is a giant leap forward for the growth of our local workforce.  SWR is proud to be a part of and is looking forward to working alongside the college to help attract new talent to our team.

 

LFCC will launch heavy equipment training

“LFCC students will train on a Vortex simulator similar to the one in this illustration.

Having an education like this where somebody can come directly out of the credentialing process and make a decent living will be a huge benefit to our community.

— T.J. Rodgers, S.W. Rodgers Co. Inc. project manager

Lord Fairfax will become the first community college in Virginia to offer statewide industry credential programs for heavy equipment operators.

LFCC has received a $453,686 Workforce Capacity Building grant from the Virginia Community College System to launch the program. The grant will fund establishment of a heavy equipment operator credential program at LFCC’s Vint Hill site and for the expansion of several trades programs on the Fauquier campus.

Beginning this winter, LFCC will offer the commonwealth’s first statewide-recognized industry credential program for heavy equipment operations. The college will use the National Center for Construction Education and Research’s curriculum and national industry credentialing.

Students will train on state-of-the-art Vortext simulation equipment.

“The simulation equipment will allow our students to gain hands-on training on multiple types of heavy construction equipment that will replicate real-life operating scenarios through rotating-motion platforms and high-resolution 3-D displays,” LFCC Workforce Solutions and Continuing Education Vice President Jeanian Clark said. “Students will do the actual motions and feel the vibrations while moving, digging and lifting in real-time weather and soil conditions.”

Graduates will operate heavy equipment used to construct roads, bridges and buildings.

The immediate Fauquier County region needs an estimated 150 new construction equipment operators each year. Those jobs paying an average of $43,000 a year.

With high demand for the skilled operators in Northern Virginia, the Heavy Construction Contractors Association suggested the program to LFCC program leaders.

“There is absolutely a need for qualified heavy equipment operators,” said HCCA Secretary T.J. Rodgers, a project manager with Gainesville-based S.W. Rodgers Co. Inc. “With the Interstate 66 widening project, we’re going to see an increasing shortage of qualified operators.

“Having an education like this where somebody can come directly out of the credentialing process and make a decent living will be a huge benefit to our community,” Mr. Rodgers added.

The VCCS grant also will allow LFCC to expand its electrical, HVAC and plumbing trades programs in Fauquier County to full Level-4 Journeyman potential, allowing students to apply for state licensure.

LFCC’s main campus at Middletown already offers the full apprenticeship programs in those trades. ”

 

6/29/17

This year S.W. Rodgers once again chose to give back to the community and our youth, in the form of some new ball fields.  The Potomac Lakes Sportsplex located in Loudoun County had a couple of playing fields that were in disrepair due to the undesirable soils that they were originally built from.  These fields were useless to the county and treacherous to the community.  SWR stepped up to the challenge and donated equipment and operators to help the HCCA and other member firms tackle this project.  With over 60,000 children participating in youth soccer in Loudoun County, every field is critically needed.  We hope that these fields can again be used without concern and will be enjoyed for generations to come.

Thank you to the operators and supervisors who helped make this a successful and safe project, notably: Bill Hogue, Billy Smith and Gary Randolph.

NBC4 chose to run a clip of the action during their evening broadcast.  Click on the link below and see if you can spot SWR’s trucks.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Loudoun-Sportsplex-Getting-New-Soccer-Fields_Washington-DC-431646443.html

4/30/17

26 SWR employees took part in the 2^nd annual Ditch Diggers Dash 5k this past weekend.  The day was hot, but SWR employees looked cool in their new team t-shirts.  The 5k race is part of the HCCA’s endeavor to create a healthier industry and way to give back to the community.

There were over 215 racers competing for top honors.  SWR representatives topped the list for many of the categories, but just barely missed out on multiple medals.  Kara Burns, daughter of Chief Estimator Dave Burns topped the chart with a time of 27:20.  Congratulations Kara!  Whether this was the beginning of your fitness journey or you were a seasoned athlete, this race benefited not only your health, but also the health of your community.  Congratulations to everyone who participated.