| Roger Wilder has been an integral and important part of the Denham Springs community for over two decades. He is a small business owner, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Owner of 19 Smoothie King franchises, Roger opened his first Smoothie King location on South Range Avenue in Denham Springs in 2001. Today, that store remains his flagship location.
Wilder has been using his business for nearly two decades to support churches, local sports teams, non-profits, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, summer camps, youth groups and numerous other organizations. His top priority has been supporting our local schools in not only Denham Springs, but all across Livingston Parish. Whether it be his fundraising programs, honor roll award smoothie coupons, sponsoring dozens of school athletic teams, Teacher Appreciation week catering, club sponsorships, Project Graduation, and various other endeavors, Wilder has raised/donated over $5 million dollars while partnering with more than 40 schools across Livingston Parish. These funds have been used by teachers to acquire individual student supplies, teacher needs, team sports equipment, computers, dance uniforms, and countless other needed items for our schools. In addition, Wilder's school programs have served as a model for numerous other SmoothieKing franchisees and school systems in Louisiana and around the nation.
Wilder's service and performance in his home parish has been recognized on multiple occasions by Smoothie King itself, as his Denham Springs location has been awarded the prestigious Smoothie King National Franchisee of the Year Award an unprecedented 7 times since 2006.
In 2016, during the great flood, the Smoothie King store on South Range Avenue flooded with 3 feet of water. Roger was 100% "boots on the ground" helping the area recover. Roger and his team worked for 3 weeks, passing out over 20,000 free smoothies to citizens, first responders, police officers, and to anyone who needed some relief from the August heat. Later that year, he was recognized in Washington D.C. with the 2016 IFA Franchisee of the Year Award.
Wilder has also served as a member of the Smoothie King National Franchise Advisory Council for 10 years and has been the Chairman of the Smoothie King National Franchise Advisory Council for 4 of those years. Since 2003, Wilder has been a Board Member and the President of the Greater Baton Rouge Advertising Association. In 2012, Roger was named a 'Top 40 Under 40' recipient by the Baton Rouge Business Report.
Since 2006, Roger has coached baseball, softball, basketball, soccer and flag football at the YMCA, Walker Parks and most notably, for over 15 years at PARDS in Denham Springs.He has also been a major booster/sponsor at both Walker parks and at PARDS in Denham Springs. Roger serves as a volunteer Head Coach for a Christian high school varsity softball team and has been coaching the team for 5 years, leading them to 2 State Championships in the Association of Christian Educators of Louisiana league (ACEL), as well as earning the league Coach of the Year Award in 2021.
Roger has been a trusted supporter and sponsor of Sheriff Jason Ard and the Sheriff's D.A.R.E. program. He has also been a volunteer for the Junior Achievement Program where he has worked within our schools, interacting directly with our students, teaching them about entrepreneurship and introducing real life concepts into the classroom. Roger remains involved with the American Heart Association and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure cancer foundation as he has been for the past two decades.
Roger Wilder and his family are members of Hebron Baptist Church in Denham Springs, where he has served on multiple church committees, volunteered and served within the youth ministry program and currently serves as a drummer on the Praise and Worship Team. Roger has been married to his wife Stephanie Carman Wilder for 21 years and the couple have three children- Connor (20), Brooke (19) and Tanner (10). |