[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 26 (Thursday, February 16, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S846-S847]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO DOYLE ROGERS

 Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, for over 50 years, Doyle W. Rogers 
has been a proud resident of the city of Batesville, AR. Next month, 
Batesville will honor him by designating March 6, 2012, as Doyle Rogers 
Day. Through his many endeavors, Doyle has found success through 
visionary leadership and hard work. It is in that spirit that I rise 
today to recognize a man I consider a great businessman and an even 
greater Arkansan.
  Doyle Rogers was born in Diaz, AR, in 1918, and raised in Newport. 
After attending Arkansas State University in

[[Page S847]]

Jonesboro, Doyle enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force to fight in 
World War II before the United States had entered the war. He then went 
on to serve in Burma with the U.S. Army Air Corps. His return from the 
war and transition into civilian life brought him to Batesville, where 
he started his professional career. Doyle tried his hand in several 
businesses in those early years, even traveling southern States selling 
Masonic Bibles, until establishing the Doyle Rogers Realty and 
Insurance Agency in 1953.
  This company would later become the Doyle Rogers Company. This 
company's real estate projects have shaped the Arkansas landscape and 
the Little Rock skyline. In 1982, Doyle's vision led to the development 
and opening of the Statehouse Convention Center and Excelsior Hotel, a 
world-class facility now known as the Peabody Hotel. A few years later, 
Doyle added the Rogers Building, a 25-story office tower now called the 
Stephens Building. These projects still stand proud along the Arkansas 
River in downtown Little Rock and assisted in the rejuvenation of 
business development in downtown Little Rock.
  Doyle would go on to purchase Metropolitan National Bank in 1983 and 
relocate its headquarters to downtown Little Rock. He serves as 
chairman of the board, and during his tenure the bank has grown to one 
of the largest in the State. His success with Metropolitan National 
Bank and his other projects led to his induction into the Arkansas 
Business Hall of Fame in 2006. With this induction, Doyle joined a 
prestigious group that includes Sam Walton, William Dillard, and Don 
Tyson.
  Many of Doyle's friends speak of his relentless work effort and 
dedication to the causes he holds dear. Education has been one of those 
issues over the years. He has served on the board of trustees of 
Hendrix College as well as advisory boards for the School of Business 
and School of Law at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He 
holds honorary degrees from Lyon College and Philander Smith College. I 
know these institutions and countless students have benefited from 
Doyle's business acumen and visionary leadership.
  Doyle attributes much of his success to the love and support of his 
great family. He married the love of his life, the former Josephine 
Raye Jackson, in 1941. Together they have been blessed with two 
children, Barbara Rogers Hoover and Doyle W. ``Rog'' Rogers, Jr., and 
six grandchildren. He noted in an interview with Arkansas Business:

       The way you enjoy your life is through your family. 
     Material things are good, but being with your family, 
     watching them grow and prosper is probably the greatest 
     reward.

  Batesville is one of my State's oldest cities. Situated along the 
White River, it was used as a shipping point decades before Arkansas 
was granted statehood. With this history, Batesville has been home to 
many notable residents, from professional athletes and NASCAR drivers 
to several former Governors. Doyle Rogers has certainly earned the 
honor of being listed as a great resident of Batesville. Even with 
Doyle's business success, he has remained humble to his roots, always 
believing in the value of hard work and loving the great city of 
Batesville. In 2004, my good friend and former Congressman Marion Berry 
said this of Doyle:

       In a day and age when the presiding belief is in order to 
     grow up and succeed you must escape Rural America, Doyle 
     Rogers and his family lived in Batesville, Arkansas for more 
     than 50 years, proving success comes with hard work, not a 
     change of zip code.

  I agree with my former colleague. Doyle's life and work are worthy of 
praise, and I am proud of the legacy he has built. I know that whatever 
endeavor Doyle chooses to pursue in the future, he will continue to 
have a positive impact on Batesville and Arkansas. I ask my colleagues 
to join me in congratulating Doyle Rogers for this honor bestowed on 
him by the city of Batesville and thank him for a job well 
done.

                          ____________________