Obituary: Steve Rosengarten, Bodek & Rhodes

Steve Rosengarten had a knack for remembering everyone’s story.

It was a gift that came from genuinely caring about people. He had a way of putting everyone at ease, getting to know them and then recalling seemingly small but important details about their lives, even years later.

This ability helped Rosengarten build a massive network of relationships during his decades in the promotional products industry. And it was those relationships that helped transform Bodek & Rhodes, the supplier firm where he worked for approximately 35 years as vice president of sales, from a local provider of blanks into one of the biggest apparel suppliers in the North American promo market.

It’s all part of Rosengarten’s legacy now following his passing on Aug. 31.

“Steve was the world’s best networker and a pioneer in the business,” said Marc Held, senior vice president of sales and customer service at Counselor Top 40 supplier alphabroder (asi/34063), which Bodek & Rhodes became part of following a 2015 acquisition.

Held continued: “He treated everyone equally and always made you smile. There are many stories in the industry how Steve gave someone credit lines with just a handshake, helping them to start their business. They are still customers today.”

Before promo, Rosengarten was an accomplished college tennis player and tennis pro. Through tennis, the story goes, he met Art Bodek, then owner and CEO of Bodek & Rhodes. That opened the door to a career in promo, and Rosengarten enthusiastically stepped through, coming aboard in the early years to grow the business alongside Bodek, who in another happy twist also became Rosengarten’s brother-in-law.

Held worked with Rosengarten for about 20 years and said the talented sales executive had a profound impact on his career.

“He was a mentor to me,” Held told ASI Media. “He supported me and gave me a chance to grow within the Bodek & Rhodes organization. I owe a great deal of gratitude to Steve for my success. He taught me the importance of building relationships, hard work and sticking to your word.”

Mary Ellen Sokalski, a now retired promo veteran who worked with Rosengarten at Bodek & Rhodes, described the late promo pro as having boundless energy.

“He was always zooming here or there at trade shows, down the hallways, hosting vibrant customer dinners or in his golf cart at one of the many golf tournaments he hosted,” Sokalski told ASI Media.

Held has similar recollections of Rosengarten’s seemingly limitless energy and affability.

“I remember first watching Steve work the Bodek & Rhodes trade show booth,” Held said. “I marveled how he remembered everyone’s name and knew so much about their business and personal lives. There would be a line in the booth waiting to talk to Steve. Customers always left the booth with a smile on their face. Steve was an extremely positive person.”

Rosengarten’s career at Bodek & Rhodes wrapped up around 2015. Sadly, he would enter a battle with Alzheimer’s – a cruel fate, friends said, for a man whose memory was so sharp throughout his career. Still, family and friends will choose to remember Rosengarten most vividly as he was during the heyday of his wildly successful promotional products career.

“Steve made everyone, whether big-volume customer or small, vendor or competitor, and especially me as a co-worker, feel like the most important person in the room,” Sokalski said. “He was always there with a kind word and support, even on the toughest days.”

Rosengarten is survived by his wife, Nadine Flexer; sons Todd (Erin) Rosengarten and David (Sarah) Rosengarten; and grandchildren Coco, Minou, Noah and Blair. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Steve Rosengarten Alzheimer’s Fund at the Penn Memory Center, Penn Medicine Development Attn: Penn Memory Center, 3535 Market Street Suite 750, Philadelphia, PA 19104.