The Rodgers Family – Building Arizona since 1925

Lester Case Rodgers “Les” (pictured with his wife, Mahme Jean) is the founder of our company. He was born in Nebraska in 1899, and moved to a farm in Ohio with his family when he was about 5 years old. He worked on his family’s farm in Ohio throughout his childhood, and later he met and married his wife, Mahme Jean. After serving in the Army during WWI, he and Mahme made the decision to head out west. They settled in Arizona in 1925, where Les began doing work as a contractor. He built his first custom home in Phoenix in 1927 at 3rd Avenue & Wilshire. Together, Mahme and Les had 3 children; Conrad “Tim” Rodgers, Babette Rodgers and Lester “Charles” Rodgers. Tim and Charles eventually joined the family business, and they become known as Rodgers & Sons Construction. With the help of his two sons, Les became one of the very first contractors ever to be licensed by the Arizona ROC, as well as the first contractor to subdivide land on N. Central Ave., Arcadia and Camelback Mountain for residential builds.

Conrad “Tim” Rodgers was the oldest child of Lester Case & Mahme Rodgers, born in Evans Port, Ohio on September 23rd, 1919. He worked alongside his father for many years, building luxury homes and developing numerous subdivisions on & around Camelback Mountain, in Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and North Central Avenue in Phoenix. Tim was also involved in many commercial projects in the Valley (and beyond) throughout the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s, some of which still stand today. With the help of his son Jim and their partners, Tim built the Beeline Dragway, and he also worked with Max Biegert in the reopening of the Grand Canyon Railroad. Tim’s most significant contribution to the Valley was his involvement in the development of the Phoenix Zoo, with his good friend, Bob Maytag. Tim did some work on Bob’s house in Paradise Valley, and that’s how they met. Tim and Bob, both conservationists & sportsmen, believed that the Valley needed a first class zoo. Together they worked diligently on the concept for several years, traveling by boat through the Panama Canal up to the east coast visiting as many zoos as they could before returning home to AZ. Tim worked tirelessly with the Arizona Game & Fish to obtain the land (including the 7 lakes of Papago Park) that we now know as Papago Park & the Phoenix Zoo. Tim built the original animal enclosures for the first gorilla, elephant, tiger and zebra to call the Phoenix Zoo home, as well as the original “children’s zoo”. Along with his brother Charlie, Tim transported “Heffalump,” the baby elephant, in a horse trailer from Los Angeles to Bob Maytag’s house in Paradise Valley, where he was housed with a sheep (so he wouldn’t be lonely) until the completion of his enclosure. The opening of the Phoenix Zoo in 1962 fulfilled the vision of both Tim Rodgers & Bob Maytag, and left their legacy for all of Arizona to enjoy for may years to come.

Fun Fact: Our current President, Chip Rodgers (Tim’s nephew, Charlie’s son) was the first child to ever set foot into the Phoenix Zoo!

Lester C. Rodgers “Charlie” is an Arizona native born in 1935. He attended Emerson Grammar School and graduated from West Phoenix High School in 1953. Charlie was a bit of a local celebrity during his teen years, being that he was a national rifle shooting champion. He won Athlete of the Year in 1954, and remains the only marksman ever to be honored at the Arizona Coliseum as Athlete of the Year. After high school, Charlie served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1956-1951, and attended Arizona Sate University, where he met his wife, Jacque Carson. After graduating from ASU in 1957 with a degree in business & accounting, he went on to marry Jacque in 1959. They had three children together; Lester Carson “Chip” Rodgers, Susan Rodgers and Melissa Rodgers. Charlie spent much of his childhood and early adulthood working alongside his dad and much older brother, learning and mastering the tricks of the trade. He helped his brother Tim with some of the Phoenix Zoo construction, and built the little red bridge of the Children’s Zoo that still stands tall today! While his older brother Tim went on to pursue a career in more commercial construction, Charlie remained passionate about residential construction and remodeling. When it came time for Les to retire, he handed and reins over to Charlie, and gave him $2,000 and a Dodge pick-up truck to get started on his own. He went on to build many houses in North Phoenix and Sunnyslope. Eventually, his son Chip joined the company, and Charlie was mostly retired by 2008.

Lester Carson “Chip” Rodgers is the child of Charlie and Jacque Rodgers, and the current President of our company. Like his father, Chip is an Arizona native. He attended Navajo Elementary School and Scottsdale High School, before going on to study architecture in college. Chip began working summers with his father when he was 15 years old, and by the age of 27, he and Charlie were 50/50 partners in the company. Chip qualified for a license with the Arizona ROC in 1986, and they began operating under the name of Carson Rodgers Development. Carson is the maiden name of Chip’s mother and Charlie’s wife, Jacque. In the late 80’s, Chip got involved with a nationally accredited remodeling organization, and even served on the board as president. This REALLY helped to grow the company. Chip was actively involved with this organization until the late 90’s, when he stepped down to spend more time with his wife, Laurie, and two young children, Marissa and Carson. In 1994, chip renewed his license with the Arizona ROC under the business name, Carson Rodgers Builder Remodeler Inc., which is what we operate under to this day. Not long after that, came the dawn of the digital age. Chip dove head first into whatever technology he could for the benefit of the business. Chip was the first general contractor in THE NATION to have a webpage on the internet and email address! Drawing plans by hand was also soon to become a thing of the past, so Chip taught himself how to draw plans using CAD computer software. Today, Chip spends less time on job sites and more time in the office drawing and perfecting plans. He has his son, Carson, to manage job sites, his daughter, Marissa, to manage the office & marketing, and his cousin John to help out on job sites when needed. When Chip retires, his children hope to continue on the legacy of the company and their family’s history in the valley.

Carson is Chip’s son, and he was destined to be a part of this company – He’s literally named after it! Like his father and grandfather, Carson began working summers with the company when he was very young. He was the only one of his friends in high school who had a job, and he was able to buy himself his first car – a 1972 GMC C10 4wd pick up truck, at the age of 16. After high school, Carson toyed with the idea of taking another career path, but ultimately decided the family business was where he wanted to be. He began working for the company full time, and by the age of 2-, he had taken over much of his father’s responsibility of managing clients, subcontractors and job sites. Carson married his high school sweetheart, Sabai, in 2022, and they are expecting their first child in June 2025! They also recently adopted a Golden Retriever puppy, Summer, who is the newest addition to our clan of office dogs here at Carson Rodgers Builders.

Marissa (pictured with her service dog, Dodger) is Chip’s daughter and oldest child. Unlike her brother, Marissa had an entire career before making the decision to join the family business. She discovered a passion for dogs and dog training after being paired with her first service dog, Addie May, at the age of 21. With the help of Addie, Marissa navigated her way through the pet industry, holding various titles (from dog trainer to customer relations manager) with 2 different companies over the years. Since she was a kid, Marissa has always loved helping her dad with odd jobs in the office, and when she began questioning her career choices, her thoughts kept circling back to the company. After a lot of thought, and talking it over with her father, Marissa resigned from her management job and started working with the company full time. Today, Marissa handles all of our bookkeeping, social media, marketing and office management.

Desert Mountain’s Why Should I Worry CGC CGCA CGCU TKN JH CDX – PAT “Dodger” is the companies mascot, and Marissa’s task-trained service dog. He’s an AKC Labrador Retriever, born in Maricopa, AZ on February 13th, 2017. He joined our family when he was 10 weeks old, and after wreaking havoc in his puppyhood, he grew into the most distinguished, hard working gentleman. His hobbies include meal times, learning new tricks, playing fetch, swimming and long walks at Papago Park. As a task-trained service dog, Dodger is allowed to go places pets are not allowed, including the Phoenix Zoo, which is his favorite place to visit!

Like his cousin Chip, John is an Arizona native, and no stranger to the construction industry. He attended Tonto Elementary School and Coronado High School, where he went to state for wrestling. After high school and college, John went on to work on cattle ranch in Paulden, Arizona. With 400 cows and 40 bulls, John worked as a true cowboy, roping and herding cattle. He then began working in construction, building fencing and barns for horse properties around the valley & northern Arizona. With an expertise in plumbing, welding & working with metal, John’s talents are invaluable on the job site. He’s always willing to jump into action whenever he is needed, and his goofy, light-hearted demeanor is always appreciated.