Costa Mesa resident named head of county Goodwill

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- He says he’s just not ready to retire.

Costa Mesa resident Dan Rogers has been named president and chief

executive of Santa Ana-based Goodwill Industries of Orange County, a

nonprofit organization that helps people with disabilities.

Rogers, 67, a Costa Mesa resident for more than 50 years, has been a

consultant to Ford Motor Land Services Inc. and chairman of Second

Harvest Food Bank in Orange, and has been involved with the World

Football League and the Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce.

He has been a volunteer at Save Our Youth, the Boys & Girls Club of

Irvine and Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in Newport Beach.

An All-American USC basketball players in the late 1950s, Rogers also

has the distinction of serving as the first head basketball coach at UC

Irvine.

Rogers says he still believes he has more left in him to give.

“I’m excited at this opportunity to help people,” he said, “especially

people who are less fortunate.”

Among other services, Goodwill helps rehabilitate people with

disabilities. Rogers says the organization has even helped design special

computers for the disabled.

His biggest challenge, says Rogers, is to increase public awareness

about the work Goodwill does.

“Many people think we’re just a place you can donate food and clothes

to, and that’s the end of it,” he said. “But we’re much more than that.

And that’s what I hope I’ll be able to communicate to people.”