Rick Goddard Campaigns in Monticello
Robins is challenging incumbent Congressman Jim Marshall for the Eighth Congressional District Seat.
Mr. Goddard qualified Monday in Atlanta, and visited Monticello Tuesday morning. He called his visit a “listening tour,” and was escorted around town by Sam Goolsby.
Mr. Goddard said he had been in Monticello previously—visiting at Team Jasper and also shopping at the Market Festival on the Square.
Mr. Goddard retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2000 as a Major General after nearly 34 years of active duty. He is on leave from Mercer University where he served as vice president and chief technology officer.
From 1997-2000, Mr. Goddard was commander of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins Air Force Baase in Warner Robins, the state’s largest industrial complex where he oversaw an annual budget of more than $4 billion and 25,000 employees.
He entered the Air Force in 1966 and is a command pilot with more than 3,500 flying hours. He flew 227 combat missions in Vietnam flying the F-100 Super Sabre and was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action, the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism and extraordinary achievement in combat and 12 Air Medals.
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Mr. Goddard commanded two F-111 Fighter/Bomber wings – the 380th Bomb Wing at Plattsburgh, New York and the 27th Fighter Wing at Clovis, New Mexico. As a member of the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff, he served as Deputy Director of the National Strategic Target List, responsible for targeting in the nation’s strategic war plan.
He also served as Director of Logistics for all U.S. Air Forces in Europe and as Director of Logistics at Air Combat Command, was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal and Legion of Merit.
Following the election of Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, Mr. Goddard served on the governor’s transition team with the responsibility of establishing the office of Georgia’s Inspector General.
In 2003, Governor Perdue appointed him to serve on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Military Coordinating Committee, which is chartered to provide direct support to Georgia’s military installations and the thousands of uniformed men and women serving in Georgia.
The committee was the prime architect for defending Georgia’s military installations during the Base realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) pro-ceedings. Mr. Goddard also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce for 2002.
When it comes to serving their country and community, Mr. Goddard and his wife Judy are a team, working tirelessly together to give back to their community, according to an announcement from Mr. Goddard. Mrs. Goddard is currently the Vice Chairman of the Houston County Republican Party and served the past four years as its chairman. She sits on the SunMark Bank Board of Advisors, Houston County Association for Exceptional Citizens Board of Directors, the Convention and Visitors Bureau Board, and the Middle Georgia Youth Science and Technology Board.
She has been involved in the American Red Cross, Family Services, Enlisted Wives Club, Officers Spouses Club, Houston County Arts Alliance, Museum of Aviation and the Salvation Army. The Goddards are members of the Warner Robins Chamber of Commerce, Air Force Association and the Military Officers of America.
Mr. Goddard graduated from the University of Utah in 1966 with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and earned his Masters degree in Business Administration from Central Michigan University in 1975. He graduated from the National Defense University, Industrial College of the Armed Forces in 1986, and attended the Senior Managers in Government Program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1994.
The Goddards have been married 35 years and have three sons: David, an Iraq war veteran; Bob, a mechanical engineer living in Seattle, Wash.; and Rick, who works in Washington, D.C. and served on the staff of U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss.
Mr. Goddard is running on the Republican ticket. As of Tuesday afternoon, incumbent Jim Marhsall and Robert Nowak, both from Macon, had qualified on the Democratic ticket.
