Eyes on the Prize Words: Dan Kamys/Public/News/20090513081900-1.jpg" width="530" height="298" border="0" alt="Codey Rogers at the National Masonry Contest, held in Kansas City, Mo., in conjunction with the National SkillsUSA Leadership Conference.">Codey Rogers at the National Masonry Contest, held in Kansas City, Mo., in conjunction with the National SkillsUSA Leadership Conference.Codey Rogers says his masonry instructor has been his greatest influence. In June 2008, Rogers participated in the national masonry contest, held in conjunction with the 44th Annual SkillsUSA Leadership Conference in Kansas City, Mo. Since then, he’s been working hard in hopes of returning to the contest next month, following his senior year of high school. Currently, Rogers works for his father’s company, Mike & Sons Inc. of Lake City, Fla. He operates heavy equipment, restoring and maintaining state parks and managing the water resources of the Suwanee River. At school, he’s an active FFA member and president of his SkillsUSA chapter. A self-described “outdoors guy,” Rogers enjoys hunting, fishing and “muddin’.” “I’ve been laying all the brick I can,” says Rogers. “Recently, I volunteered to do a job at a high school in Jacksonville (Fla.) that was organized by Mr. Al Herndon of the Florida Masonry Apprentice and Education Foundation. Over the course of a couple of weekends, we built a brick backstop for a softball field. I worked mostly on the veneer.” Rogers Participated in Another SkillsUSA regional competition and qualified for the Florida state-level competition for the third time. He hopes to return to Kansas City to participate in the national contest this summer. Rogers’ instructor thinks he has a strong chance of making that Kansas City trip. “Codey is driven to succeed,” says Michael Beville, masonry instructor at the Bradford-Union Area Career Technical Center in Starke, Fla. “He works hard, and he’s an inspiration to his fellow students. His physical skills, combined with his ability to learn the technical aspects, are superior and demonstrate exactly what will help our industry in the future.” Rogers has a strong work ethic and comes from a hard-working family. He also enjoys working outdoors, so the combination is a recipe for success. “Codey is in a great position right now,” says Beville. “He has two major contractors in the area competing to employ him as soon as he graduates this June.”