HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Nearly 28 years ago, Patricia Steward-Rogers started at the United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg in their finance department on April Fools Day. However, her tenure rising through the ranks of the nonprofit as a temp employee to accounts receivable manager was no joke.
Steward-Rogers is retiring on December 31 after an illustrious career managing millions of dollars and mentoring employees.
“She just has a way of putting you at ease and really showing you her knowledge of what she knows about the United Way and the community,” United Way’s CFO Paul Hunter said.
Lori Hurley, Steward-Rogers’ coworker and longtime friend, said “I have been so fortunate to work with Pat for the last 28 years and it will be a hard day when she is no longer here. The United Way will not be the same place for me.”
Her team nominated their beloved coworker for CBS 6 Gives, an opportunity to highlight the individuals in our community who are doing good work in the community and giving back.
“At United Way we bring people and resources together to help those who need it most through grants and advocacy work. The work Pat makes possible, helps ensure these resources get to where they need to be and is just as vital as any other role,” they wrote in an email. “She’s one of the quiet “heroes of hope” behind the scenes who makes all the work that United Way does in and for the community possible.”
CBS 6’s Brendan King visited the United Way offices on Carousel Lane in Henrico County for what Steward-Rogers thought was a typical news story about nonprofits.
She said she joined the United Way after her family experienced two fires and received help from the Red Cross, one of the organizations that partners with the nonprofit.
“I haven’t been entirely truthful about the reason why we are here. Your team calls you the backbone of the finance department, managing millions of dollars every year. They say you offer compliments to your coworkers,” Brendan said.
Steward-Rogers told her coworkers she didn’t want a retirement party, but instead cards of encouragement.
“I am a card girl. I love cards. I love them. I have boxes of cards going back years. I love cards, so that’s what I wanted,” she told Brendan.
He then surprised the longtime employee with a CBS 6 Gives card with gift cards, with help from Virginia Credit Union.
“I don’t know what to say,” Steward-Rogers said through tears. “It’s really been a ride for 27 years. I’m going to miss everybody.”
She selflessly thanked and credited her coworkers for the support the United Way provides to nonprofits across 13 counties in Central Virginia.
“It takes all of them to get all of this done. It’s not just me. I’m not the backbone. I’m just one of the bones. These are all the bones right here. When you put all of this together is the United Way. This is the team,” she said as her coworkers applauded.
Steward-Rogers ended her speech thanking CBS 6 for the unexpected surprise.
“Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. You got me. You really did because this is not what I thought this was,” she added.
CBS 6 is honoring members of our community each day of December for our Month of Giving. Do you know someone we should surprise? Email their story to CBS 6 Gives.
The CBS 6 Month of Giving made possible by Virginia Credit Union is underway. Watch for a new surprise every day in December on CBS 6 News. Have an idea about who we should surprise next, click here to email our team.
