Rodgers remembered as ‘visionary servant leader’

“I love You Lord for your mercy never fails me. All my days I’ve been held in Your hands.

All my life You have been faithful…with every breath that I am able I will sing of the goodness of God.” (CeCe Winans: Goodness of God)

A man called a visionary servant leader, a rock and an encourager was laid to rest June 2.

Matthew D. Rodgers, 50, was buried at New Brockton Cemetery following services at First Baptist Church of Enterprise. The long time educator—teacher, coach, principal and most recently Enterprise State Community College President—had been diagnosed with cancer a little more than one year before.

“Matt loved his community and he lived for the opportunity to serve others,” said FBC Senior Pastor Ben Bowden. “He had a wonderful career—but he always loved being called coach. At the end of the day, he was a coach,” Bowden added with a smile.

A graduate of New Brockton High School, Rodgers earned a bachelor’s degree in Social Science from the University of Alabama. He later attended Troy University- Dothan, earning a Master's in Educational Leadership.

The son of the late D.W. “Wink” and Linda Rodgers is survived by his wife, Stacy Rodgers; son, Liam Rodgers; brother, J.P. Sawyer and his wife, Keely, and niece and nephews, Ella Sawyer, Lint Sawyer and Brack Sawyer.

Alabama Community College System Chancellor Jimmy Baker, himself a New Brockton native and longtime family friend, remembers Rodgers from childhood. He said they had the opportunity to work together professionally during the time Baker served as Interim Superintendent of Enterprise City Schools in 2013 and Rodgers was Enterprise High School Principal. “I already knew him but I had the opportunity to watch him operate as EHS Principal—which is a huge responsibility—and he handled it masterfully,” Baker said. “His mission was to serve the community, the people and the students and he didn’t stray from that.

“When the job at ESSC became available and we went through the interview process, he was a standout,” Baker said about Rodgers. “I never regretted that decision. He put life back into that school. He made a huge difference.

“He wasn’t through, unfortunately, but we’re going to continue on doing some of the things he had planned,” Baker added. “He was just an exceptional guy.”

Enterprise attorney and longtime member of the Enterprise State Community College Foundation board Dale Marsh agreed. “Matt was a rock and a leader in the fields of administration and education,” Marsh said. “He strived for excellence in all he did. He loved his God, his family and the thousands of students he taught, helped and mentored.”

Rodgers began his career at Zion Chapel High School as a history teacher and coach. He then moved to Andalusia High School as a teacher and coach. In 2001, he accepted a teaching and coaching position at Enterprise High School, where he remained until he was selected as assistant principal in 2007. In 2011, he was named principal of Enterprise High School. In 2017, he was named president of Enterprise State Community College where he served until his retirement in May of this year.

“Matt was made for the principal-ship at Enterprise High School,” said retired Enterprise City Schools Superintendent Greg Faught. “Matt was very serious about carrying out his duties and understood the weighty issues associated with the job. He had a heightened sense of personal responsibility with regard to serving the community in that position.  

“At the same time, he was upbeat, cheerful and quick with a smile,” Faught said. “Matt was smart, hardworking and methodical. His strengths included planning, handling difficult situations and surrounding himself with other very talented staff. He recognized the importance of teamwork and led people with conviction and a lot of determination.  

“Matt Rodgers will be greatly missed and my hope is that the wonderful memories of him will sustain those who loved him during this time of unbearable grief—I think he would want that,” Faught added.   

Bowden agreed. “While we grieve, we are not alone in our grief,” he said at the church service. “This is a celebration of a life that was well lived and saved by the precious blood of our Savior Jesus Christ.

“This is a life that was taken from us much too soon and a life that blessed so many in those five short decades,” Bowden added. “What a gift he was to this community.”

“Matt told me that he wanted his funeral to be centered around the glory of God, not the glory of Matt Rodgers,” Bowden said, adding that the words of CeCei Winan’s “Goodness of God” song deeply impacted Rodgers.

“I love Your voice. You have lead me through the fire, in darkest nights. You are close like no other... and I have lived in the goodness of God,” the lyrics said. “All my life You have been faithful…with every breath that I am able I will sing of the goodness of God.”

“Matt listened to that specific track over again when he was on his way to chemo,” Bowden said. “He wanted to have that message pressed into his heart—over and over again. While things may be really bad, God is really good. Not just some of the time, all of the time. God is good.

“Even to the very end God did not fail Matt. He wanted people to know that he did not give up and that he did not lose because his victory is in Jesus Christ,” Bowden said. “He stressed, ‘I. Did. Not. Lose. My victory is in Christ.’”

“Matt battled cancer with dignity, bravery and courage,” said longtime friend Saraland City Schools Superintendent Dr. Aaron Milner, who said that Rodgers had asked him to speak at his funeral. ‘How do I put 32 years of friendship into words?

“Matt packed a lot of life into 50 short years and made everybody’s so much brighter,” Milner said. “He fought this disease with everything he had. Buddy, this disease didn’t win, you did. Your spirit will live with me and those you love forever. He was an example to all of us on how to squeeze as much out of this life that we have.”

“Matt Rodgers was not afraid of making tough decisions,” said retired Enterprise City Schools Superintendent Dr. Jim Reese. “We were fortunate to get him to come to Enterprise High School as a history teacher and assistant football coach. His leadership skills were evident as soon as he was employed.”

Reese lauded Rodgers’ servant leadership as the high school students moved from the ESCC campus where they were housed after their school was destroyed in the tornado March 1, 2007. “One group of students never had their own high school as students attended classes on the ESCC campus and other sites from the Spring of 2007,” he said. “When the new high school opened in August 2010, Matt’s leadership was vital in the transition to the new school.” 

Reese said another example of Matt’s leadership is, when as principal in 2017, there was a vacancy for the position of head basketball coach at EHS. “Matt talked with several people who were interested in the position. He decided on recommending one of our own, Rhett Harrelson, who was a starter on our team from grades 8-12. However, Rhett had no head coaching experience and was only about 23 years old. Matt knew he would be criticized for recommending someone that young with no head coaching experience, but he knew what he was getting. Matt’s intuition paid off, and Rhett has led our teams to runner-up for the 7A State Championship in 2021 and the State Championship in 2022.” 

“Matt was a man with vision who backed up his words and his ideas with actions and we are all better for what he accomplished during his service in education,” said Enterprise Mayor William Cooper, himself a longtime educator. “Matt had a servant’s heart and a leader’s spirit, always interested in developing others to be the best they can be.

“He took his role in shaping the lives of young people through education extremely seriously, and he continually worked to see that young people not only had a good foundation to start with, but also had new and wonderful opportunities to explore,” Cooper added. “His legacy will be in the lives he positively influenced through emphasizing the basics in education while implementing programs that dramatically enhanced the prospect of the students’ future success. Our community has lost a great servant and visionary.”