The journey of a 1,000 miles starts with a single step.

For Lucy Rogers, the journey from a high school cafeteria in East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, to center stage at “The Faces of Success”

Lucy Rogers at The Faces of Success Town Hall Meeting

Town Hall Meeting at the Workforce Innovations 2005 Conference in Philadelphia began when she inquired about the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) administered by a subgrantee to the National Council on Aging, the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM).

Rogers had worked hard since childhood, picking cotton in the fields before catching her school bus. “My parents raised me to be honest, independent and hard working,” she states with pride. “I worked for 27 years in the East Carroll Parish High School, rising from cook to cafeteria manager. Then, when I moved to Monroe, I was ready for bigger things.” In Monroe, Rogers worked as a field supervisor for several area high school cafeterias, with a myriad of responsibilities. She supervised staff, maintained inventory, and checked for compliance with health and safety regulations.

In 1999, Rogers retired after 38 years of service. “It didn’t take long for me to become bored,” she notes wryly. “I needed something more to keep me focused.” That’s when she heard about the older worker program at ULM.

When Elizabeth Yielding, Director of the Older Worker Programs at ULM met Rogers, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work. After conducting an assessment and determining her age and income eligibility, she decided that Rogers was an excellent prospect for training with the then experimental private sector employment program.

Rogers was placed in a training assignment at the Bayou Bakery, and was an immediate hit with the owners. After three weeks, she became a permanent hire. Her muffins, cinnamon rolls, and come Mardi Gras time, King Cakes, became “a local legend.”

In November, 2003, the Bayou Bakery’s owners offered her the opportunity to buy the business. “This was something I’d always dreamed of,” Rogers says. “I was a little bit afraid, but I spoke to my children and they encouraged me to realize that dream. I accepted the offer and became a small business owner.”

And the success story didn’t stop there. With true entrepreneurial spirit, Rogers “grew the business.” It’s now Bayou Bakery and Catering, with 5 employees, and an active trade in providing full meals for business functions and private parties. Not that that’s stopped Rogers from still rising at 4 a.m. every morning to pitch in with the day’s baking!

Pictured from left to right at Bayou Bakery and Catering are Angela Leak, Lucy Rogers, Lee Rogers, and ToQuanda Siggal.

And that’s what led the Employment and Training Administration to select Rogers as one of “The Faces of Success.” “How proud we were to stand on that stage with Assistant Secretary DeRocco and to have the opportunity to demonstrate how successful older workers can be,” Yielding notes. “And the publicity has been wonderful for her business. She now needs to figure out how to fit more tables into the shop to accommodate all her new customers!”

Rogers is what SCSEP is all about: a real life example of the value-added older workers bring to the workplace and to themselves. “I’d like to thank SCSEP for changing my life. Working keeps me going, keeps me productive, and keeps me healthy. The more I work, the more I want to work! I hope that I can be an inspiration to other older individuals.”

Bayou Bakery and Catering can be reached at 318-387-8119.