In 1979, brothers Richard and Steve Rogers made a vow in raging rainstorm following their father’s death by suicide.
Leonard Rogers suffered from mental illness and alcoholism and a lifetime of living up to his father’s success building the United States Stove Company.
Realizing their father had run the company to the verge of bankruptcy, the brothers vowed to bring the company back and restore their family name.
Together, they beat incredible odds, giving their family company just one more chance to make it.
The hard work, grit, and in some ways luck that led to that comeback story have gone onto to inspire Just One More Foundation, dedicated to giving second chances.
Here the brothers tell the story of their father’s suicide and the night they made the vow that would change their lives and the fate of their family’s company.
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It’s a story that reads like a Hollywood movie.
In 1898, Richard and Steve Rogers’ grandfather was a determined 16-year-old determined to leave his family’s abusive home in small town Tennessee. He went on to become one of the most powerful men in southeastern Tennessee both in business and politics.
“Resilience, Tragedy, & Tenacity: 150 Years of the U.S. Stove Story & The Family of S.L. Rogers, Sr.” tells the story of this family’s many generations of struggle and triumph.
Read this book to better understand how S.L. Rogers’ grandson, Richard, was inspired to start this unique, inspirational movement, Just One More Foundation.
In 2020 Richard decided it was time to chronicle his family’s story. He commissioned former CNN anchor Daryn Kagan to undertake the project. Over the course of two years, Daryn interviewed more than 20 descendants of S.L. Rogers, Sr. and a number of current and former company employees.
The process of working on the book and closely examining his story and his family’s story, Richard began to see that his most important life’s work had just begun.
He’s determined to use his good fortune to help people who want to put hard work into overcoming their obstacles.
Richard also believes in the power of storytelling. Just One More Foundation is dedicated to telling the stories of people who have overcome their obstacles in order to provide hope to those who are still struggling.