Bonar Day “B.D.” Rodgers, 89, founder and chairman of Charlotte, N.C.-based construction manager Rodgers Builders, died Feb. 14. Mr. Rodgers had remained active in the company’s management until his death.

The company released a statement, which read, in part: “[B.D.] was a ’builder’ in the truest sense, with a passion for building relationships through his service to community and his love of the construction industry, and most importantly, his love for his family and friends. He inspired all who met him with his humility, his integrity, and his genuine kindness.”

After graduating from North Carolina State University in 1949 with a degree in civil engineering, Mr. Rodgers worked as an engineer and contractor. In 1963, borrowing $5,000 against a life-insurance policy, he founded Rodgers Builders. Since then, the contractor has grown to become one of the largest in the Southeast, ranking 11th in ENR Southeast’s most recent Top Contractors ranking, with $387.4 million in 2012 regional revenue. Nationally, Rodgers Builders ranked 149th, according to ENR’s Top 400 Contractors ranking, published last year.

Last year, ENR Southeast recognized Rodgers Builders as its “Contractor of the Year.” Recent projects include the $120-million Talley Student Center at N.C. State University, and the BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte.

Mr. Rodgers is survived by his wife of more than 20 years, Pat Rodgers, who serves as the firm’s president and CEO — a position she has held since 1988.

In 2009, N.C. State University’s College of Engineering presented B.D. Rodgers with its Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award.

Reprinted courtesy of Engineering News-Record, copyright McGraw Hill Financial, February 19, 2014, All rights reserved.

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