Bruce Rogers - a prominent community leader who helped establish the Traverse City Downtown Development Authority and was a past president of the Michigan Retailers Association and National Cherry Festival, among numerous career accomplishments - passed away Wednesday at the age of 81.

Nicknamed "Mr. Traverse City," Rogers - along with Boots Wolff - helped establish the DDA in the late 1970s. Rogers and his wife, Joyce, were the longtime owners of Bartling’s, a popular downtown women’s clothing shop they operated until it closed in late 2001. He was active in development and property management at Schmidt-Rogers Management and was a member of the TC Business Hall of Fame. Rogers was a recipient of both Traverse Connect's Distinguished Service Award and the Downtown Traverse City Association Lyle DeYoung award. A Rotarian for decades, Rogers helped champion the revitalization of both the Park Place Hotel and State Theatre.

In a statement, DDA Vice Chair Scott Hardy said Traverse City "lost one of the pioneers of what we consider the greatest downtown in America. A simple statement of fact doesn't begin to do justice to Bruce's impact on Traverse City and those people who had a chance to know him."

Hardy continued: "More important than what he did was who he was. Bruce was a father, a grandfather, a devoted husband, and a passionate supporter of the small business owners who are the lifeblood of downtown Traverse City. From the early 1970s, when he and Joyce purchased Bartling’s in downtown, Bruce devoted himself to helping and encouraging his fellow business owners to make Traverse City what he knew it could be. He did it by mentoring, encouraging and even prodding many of today's successful downtown business and property owners. He was kind, giving, and always, always honest. I speak for a host of current and past DDA members and business owners by saying Bruce, we'll never forget you. As many of use used to say after our weekly phone calls from Bruce, 'Here endeth the lesson.' Let's hope those lessons endure."

Funeral arrangements for Rogers are pending with the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home.