Photos by Scott Cuttingham
Almost 40 years after she came into the family business as a 16-year-old, Becky Webb Rogers still has the same enthusiasm for every project she’s part of.
Evidence of that enthusiasm is visible all throughout Dublin – and the rest of central Ohio.
Rogers, a Dublin resident, is vice president at custom home-building company Bob Webb Homes, which was founded in 1960 by her father, the titular Bob Webb. She has been working for the company since 1977, and it has held her interest for even longer.
“Ever since I was a kid, I have been walking houses with Dad,” Rogers says.
Not everyone goes into the family business, but Rogers always found the world of home-building appealing – something she attributes to her father’s passion for the work.
Her own passion for building has helped Rogers succeed as a woman in an industry that is largely male-dominated. She was fortunate, she says, in that Webb has always supported her.
Bob Webb has made numerous contributions to the home-building community in and around Dublin. Webb himself was very active in Muirfield from the beginning, Rogers says, and he also developed the Reserve. Today, the company is deeply invested in Jerome Village, and is also building homes in Stonebridge Crossing and Tartan Ridge.
“We just opened our first model in Jerome Village in the first part of January,” Rogers says.
The key to Rogers’ continued excitement when it comes to home-building is feeding off customers’ excitement. If they’re amped to work on the design for their new home, so is she.
“I enjoy the constant challenge of making the best homes,” she says. “At the end of the day, I love that we have fulfilled a client’s dreams, and they love their house from the footers to the roof.”
Whatever she’s working on at any given moment, Rogers says, captivates her. Though she can point to a few projects that have stood out over the years – the company’s contributions to the BIA Parade of Homes, of which it has participated in 12, are usually good bets – the most recent jobs tend to be the ones she most wants to talk about.
In late April, she referred customers to a pair of just-completed projects. The customers were positively over the moon, including a young couple who had just finished building their second home.
“(The woman) is so excited she can hardly sit still, and that is just really fun,” says Rogers.
At the moment, some of the biggest items on Rogers’ plate are houses in Jerome Village, located in Plain City just outside of Dublin, and the Ravines at McCammon Chase in Lewis Center.
A lot of the new concepts Rogers and her colleagues work into homes come from customers who’ve done a lot of research into what they want.
“(Customers) are very in the know,” says Rogers. “It’s always exciting to incorporate the latest technologies into our homes.”
She also follows industry magazines and major trends.
Though she spends her days surrounded by all manner of home-building decisions, there are a few elements that remain close to Rogers’ heart – elements she keeps in mind for her own home near Tartan Fields. Cabinetry, trim, colors and tile are always important considerations, she says, as are interior finishes and lighting fixtures.
“There are a lot of new tiles out there right now – new shades, new sizes,” Rogers says. “I love all that stuff.”
Trim is traditionally a point of pride in all Bob Webb homes, as is cabinetry, the result of the company’s having its own custom cabinet shop.
Working on plans, which is almost always a team activity at Bob Webb, also keeps Rogers entertained. The more innovation she can pack into a home design, the better, she says.
“Just put everybody’s good ideas together, and hopefully, you end up with the best product,” she says.
Rogers graduated from The Ohio State University, where she majored in finance and accounting. She also played tennis at OSU and was captain of the varsity team for two years.
Rogers and her husband, Neil, have lived in the Tartan Fields area for five years. Their daughter, Ava, is a third-grader at Pinney Elementary School.
“Ava also helps me to decorate the interiors of (Bob Webb’s) models,” Rogers says. “A lot of the rooms are girls’ rooms for this reason.”
Dublin’s community events are a big part of Rogers’ reasons for living here, she says.
Garth Bishop is managing editor. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
