Thanksgiving brings family, food, and most importantly, giving thanks. For weightlifting and assistant varsity football coach Todd Rogers, he does not need the Thanksgiving holiday to reflect on what he is thankful for.

“I can’t tell you how good it is to be back at school and to get up everyday with a purpose…I used to complain about getting up and going to work on some days, and I never complain about getting up and going to work now,” Rogers stated.

In early Jan. of 2014, word got out that Rogers was diagnosed with colon cancer. What came next he never expected.

“I can’t begin to tell how generous everybody was…it was so much that when you say ‘thank you’, it doesn’t seem like enough, like a word big enough to express how my family and I felt,” Rogers stated.

The school offered insurmountable support for Coach Rogers in his battle with cancer; teachers dedicated their sick time, students dedicated their money, and a pancake breakfast fundraiser was hosted.

Fellow weightlifting coach JoElyn Boone said, “just the support; the financial support, the emotional support…I think that was a big part of him getting through it and then coming back strong.”

Boone went on to state how Roger’s missed time in the weight room was not anticipated either, “it was fourteen months almost…we thought it was just going to be a few months, and he’d be back.”

Baylin Self, who has been coached by Rogers in a weight class for the last two years affirmed, “he was gone a lot [last year], but he would come in whenever he could, and so it was cool to see him when he was there.”

Both Boone and Self recognize Rogers and his importance at Perry, from Boone stating how “it’s a huge relief” to have him back, to Self defining Rogers as “really positive…friendly and encouraging.”

Rogers, currently in remission, explains his present state, “I’m currently coming up on the two year mark, and I have to make it to the five year mark. If I make it to the five year mark, I’m out of the woods.”

Until the five year mark, Rogers can be confident Perry will stand by him every step of the way.