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Monday, May 5, 2008
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Low-key but highly helpful EVERYDAY PEOPLE City Editor Heidi Rogge, a self-described low-key person, likes to work behind the scenes, not in the limelight.
That's why she considers her business and coaching roles perfect for her personality.
Bob and Becky Sullivan own Quality Restaurants Inc. They operate four Wendy's restaurants - in Brainerd and Duluth and two in Fargo, N.D. They also own Caribbean Beach Tanning in Baxter and Waite Park among other business interests.
Rogge, 27, handles their marketing.
Bob Sullivan also is the Central Lakes College softball coach. Rogge is his assistant.
Rogge, a former CLC softball player, met the Sullivans through softball. She played on the first CLC team to qualify for the national tournament. Her teams qualified both her freshman and sophomore seasons.
"I actually met my boss, Bob Sullivan, while I was playing on the college team and I went to work at Wendy's then after that," Rogge said. "I kind of worked my way up from there."
Age: 27.
Hometown: Verndale.
Family: Single. Three sisters, Tracey Putz, Brainerd, Beth and Bobbi, Fargo, N.D.; one brother, Justin, Wadena; her parents, of Verndale; three nieces, in Brainerd.
Education: Graduate of Central Lakes College with an associate degree as well as an associate in applied science degree in business management.
Words to live by: "'If God brings you to it, he will bring you through it.' I've used it and I've passed it along. I think it can be used and applied anywhere."
Where do you see yourself 10 years from now? "Probably still around here, hopefully still coaching. I like what I'm doing. I can't say I would want to be doing anything different. Hopefully, at some point in time I'd have a family along the way."
What makes a good coach? "Patience, for one. I really like to be able to explain why you are doing something. Being able to explain, rather than just direct, is a big key."
Words this spring for Mother Nature? "Once the snow is gone, just stay gone."
One person in all of sports you'd like to meet? Peyton Manning - because he stays grounded while in the spotlight.
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Rogge started at the ground level at the Wendy's restaurant in Brainerd.
"My first job was doing sandwiches in the back line for the drive-through. I worked at the actual store level for three years. I've pretty much done everything, I can say, except for the fry station at Wendy's. I've even done grill."
In time, Rogge moved from the restaurant kitchen to the business office.
With a love for softball, Rogge was able to step into the assistant coaching role as well.
She appreciates the freedom she receives from the Sullivans to be able to balance her professional career with her passion for coaching.
Although coaching is a year-round commitment, the busiest time is during the regular season. Rogge tries to prepare for this busy time by completing a lot of her business duties in the off-season. She also knows she'll be putting in a lot of long days during the spring on the field and off to balance her business and coaching responsibilities.
Traits she learned as an athlete - to be disciplined and organized - also help her keep two professional worlds balanced.
Rogge believes her upbringing - strong family relationships and values as well as her faith and a good work ethic - sets her apart from others as a person and a coach.
"I guess I'm really low-key so I guess I'm probably really easy to get along with," Rogge said. "Having that many brothers and sisters, being out in the country, you know how to work hard, you know how to appreciate maybe stuff a lot more. Nothing was really given to us. Having that attitude, that type of upbringing, you learn to get along with people.
"Playing sports that really helps a lot. You don't go anywhere as an individual. I never played any individual sports so it's all kind of a team thing.
"And I like to think I have a pretty good faith. I try to incorporate that in things I say and do. I'm usually not too obscene. I don't put people down. I think a lot of people have seen that brought through."
But family remains at the core of who Rogge is and what she's all about.
"I am pretty much all about family," Rogge said. "They are probably the people who keep you grounded, keep you on track, keep you accounted for."
Sports teach athletes valuable life lessons, Rogge added, such as how to work together as a team and how to work toward a common goal.
"In essence, it teaches them a lot of discipline," Rogge said. "If you really want something, you have to make sure that other parts of your life are in order. To be an athlete you also have to be a student and being a student comes first. I think they have to be organized. They have to be disciplined. They have to get the good grades in order to be an athlete."
Although she works for a restaurant company, Rogge says she has no claim to fame in the kitchen.
"If I want a good meal, I usually call up my sister and say, 'Tracey, what are you making for supper tonight,'" Rogge says with a laugh. She said that phone call usually leads to an invitation and an opportunity to spend quality time with her three nieces in Brainerd.
On occasion, she watches the television show, "Top Chef."
"It's interesting," she said. "If I had time and could do something like that, I would absolutely love it. Maybe that will be a next hobby - take baking or cooking classes for the fun of it."
For now, she'll stay out of the kitchen.
She recalled an experience about a year ago when she and her roommates were cooking breadsticks. A friend recommended heating the breadsticks in the oven on broil - so the inside stayed chewy and the outside becomes crusty and crunchy.
"We figured we'd try it one time," she said. "We didn't realize they'd heat a lot faster. The breadsticks actually started on fire in the stove.
"Probably me staying out of the kitchen is not a bad idea."
KATHI NAGORSKI may be reached at kathi.nagorski@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5859.
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