Shirley Rogers celebrates 80 years

‘There was a time she nearly hit a casket truck’- Paul Phillips

By Charlotte Underwood

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- Community icon Shirley Fox Rogers was honored on her 80^th birthday on Saturday surrounded by family, friends and community leaders, many of whom spoke about her influences in their lives and the differences she has made in the county and surrounding areas. The event was full of both funny stories and heart-felt accounts. It was apparent by the stories that Shirley has been a “mom” and an “inspiration” to those who know her and “an asset to this community for many years.”

Shirley’s birthday party was held at the LaFollette Methodist Church, where she has been a long-time member.

“She is a fine member of the church and we appreciate all that she does here,” said Logan Hickman as he went over her life-time accomplishments, some of which include her three terms on the LaFollette City Council, her role in the Campbell County Rotary Club as a long-time member and past president, as well as her efforts that benefited the Campell County Children’s Center, East Tennessee PBS and much more.

“Shirley was also a member of the Campbell County Planning Commission, she has helped with the Campbell County Children’s Center, which does wonderful things for the county, she is a former member of the Campbell County Health Council, as well as active in Girl Scouts, Shirley has done so much for Girl Scouts and was a member of the council for 26 years. She was also on the City of LaFollette Planning Commission, the E-911 Board, the Tennessee Municipal League and she was on the water and waste water board in Nashville appointed by Governor Phil Bredesen, she was a member of the Campbell County Foster Review Board, the Campbell County Library Board and former chair of the Christmas Parade, which was a passion of hers and something that means a whole lot here to the folks of LaFollette and Campbell County. She was also chair of the Campbell County Wastewater committee. She has had several awards, she is a Tennessee Colonel, she has received the Above and Beyond Award from the East Tennessee Foundation for working with at-risk children and she has been recognized by the Tennessee House of Representatives, also for her work with at-risk children. She has commendations for her community from the state, she got that in the year 2000. Governor Bredesen recognized her again for her qualifications, and she was on a three-year term for the water and waste-water board, and she received a proclamation from the senate for honorable and astute service to the people of Tennessee for her service and commitment. Also, in honor of overseeing the Christmas Parade for so many years, the committee just recently in 2018 named her Grand Marshal.” Hickman noted that these many accomplishments were “just a small portion of Shirley’s Life.”

Long-time friend of Shirley’s Todd Overbay spoke at the event and kept everyone laughing with multiple stories about Shirley and “the troubles” she had gotten him into over the years on their travels to various meetings. Overbay said he has known Shirley for about 45 years.

Former LaFollette Mayor Cliff Jennings spoke briefly, saying that “Shirley was his favorite council member of all time.”

Former LaFollette Utility Genera Manager Kenny Baird spoke as well, saying that Shirley had been instrumental in her role on the waste-water committee and as a LaFollette Council member in getting hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of grants for the city’s water and wastewater.

“Shirley, you have a lot of accomplishments. We love you and we thank you for everything that you have done. I worked at the city utility board for 30 plus years and had the privilege of working with Shirley when she was a council member. I will echo what Mayor Jennings said, she was responsible for many of the grants that came into the city of LaFollette and most of them went over to the water and wastewater department, so we thank you for that,” Baird said.

He shared a funny story that it was Shirley who educated him that the Muppets of PBS fame did not in fact live in Sneedville.

“Shirley was involved with public television, so Shirley straightened me out on something one time. When I was a kid, most of you remember this too, before we had cable TV, we only had three channels, 6, 8 and 26, now if the wind blew right and the antenna turned a certain way, you got channel 2, which was public television. So, I went until I was grown thinking that the Muppets lived over in Sneedville, Tennessee, because Channel 2 was broadcasted from Sneedville, Tennessee, so I wanted to go up there and see the Muppets. I was a grown man when Shirley said ‘Honey, the Muppets don’t live in Sneedville.’”

Vickie Lawson, President and CEO of East Tennessee PBS, also attended Shirley’s event, thanking her for her many years on the board.

“Shirley, when she gets something and it’s her passion, she does not let it go and we are so thankful that she has led East Tennessee PBS through trials and tribulations, she’s been there when we’ve had successes and been there when we have had struggles, Shirley is one to be commended,” Lawson said.

Former District Attorney General Paul Phillips told a special story about Shirley’s impact at the Children’s Center and the one time, that she “nearly hit the casket truck.”

“All of my stories about Shirley, have to do with her working hard for the children and the citizens of Campbell County and if you are around her, you will work hard too, because she will aggravate you until you work hard. She was on the board of the Children’s Center, the Child Advocacy Center of Campbell County from the very beginning. We had great local support from the Rotary Club and many others in this room, but in the beginning, we were worried to death about paying the water bill and keeping the lights on and Shirley just kept saying, well, we just go to work hard, and she was at every board meeting. One day, in the early times of the Children’s Center, I was in the D. A’s office at the time and she called me on the phone and said she was on the interstate and there’s a casket truck that has passed me and as it went by, I saw a sign on it that said, ‘we make donations to help children’, she said, I think it’s the Bates Casket Company; I’m going to catch that truck.  I said Shirley, are you by yourself and she said yes, and I said, you’ll hit that casket truck, you need to be careful, and she said, I’m only driving 85 and I think if I can get this Chevrolet up to 90, I can catch that casket truck. She said, now you stay on the line, there’s a phone number on the truck and she said, when I get up amongst that truck, I’m going to read that phone number to you, you get your pencil ready. So, in a minute, I said, how fast are you going now Shirley and she said, well, I’m going 90, but I’m almost there; and she read the number of the Bates Casket Company that said they made grants for the benefit of children and I’m telling you brothers and sisters we applied for a grant and we got it. But that was the day that Shirley nearly hit the casket truck.”

Maggie Inscho with the Campbell County Children’s Center spoke about her personal and professional relationship with Shirley and perhaps summed it up best.

“We all feel like her family because that’s what we are to her. She is instrumental to the children’s center; I don’t know where we would be without her, and I don’t know where I would be.”

At the close of the event, Shirley thanked everyone who came from near and far.

“I love everyone so very much and I appreciate the kind words that have been said about me today. Whether you came from far or near, I appreciate it. I just love you all so much and hope I have shown that love down through the years. You mean the world to me, and I could tell such good stories about each and every one of you. I am rarely at a loss for words, but I am right now. Saying thank you just isn’t enough, there are times that it may go unsaid, but it won’t go undone.” (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-01/27/2025-6AM)