TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – The community of Terre Haute said goodbye and well wishes to Richard Goodall today as he heads to Hollywood for America’s Got Talent live shows.
WTWO hosted a send-off party for the “golden buzzer” winner and the public did not disappoint.
It was just a few months ago that Richard took his first plane ride to Hollywood, California and auditioned for America’s Got Talent. He now gets the chance to return and perform for a $1 million grand prize. Members of the Terre Haute community say, seeing one of their own on that stage has brought emotion and inspiration.
“Supporting someone who is going after their dream. Saw him on TV and it just brought tears to my eyes, I’m not kidding, and I thought, if he is from here then I got to see him. We’re rooting for him.”
Two members of Terre Haute community
Saturday, hundreds of Terre Haute residents packed the Vigo County Fairgrounds for the WTWO send-off celebration. Richard spoke on his journey and wanted to remind people, he’s still the same guy he was before.
“I’m still at the school, I’m still scraping boogers and painting walls. I’m still there y’all, I’m still the same guy.”
Richard Goodall
At the send-off celebration, Richard received kind words from members of the Terre Haute community including WTWO anchor Dana Winklepleck, Vigo County School Corporation Superintendent Chris Himsel, and Terre Haute Mayor Braden Sakbun. Yet, it was Mullen’s Dressing that gave Goodall a gift of a lifetime supply of their product.
Mullen’s owner Penny Shaw says she understands some of the things Richard is going through and the choice to get involved just seemed right.
“Well, he likes Mullen’s, for one thing. We just want to be part of it. We’ve been kind of in a new phase of Mullen’s ourselves, renovating and I’m the new owner, so I kind of understand this whole dreaming it, doing it. It’s exciting, we want to be part of it too.”
Penny Shaw – Mullen’s Owner
Before taking his talents to the West Coast, Richard decided to bless Terre Haute with a couple of performances, including his famous Don’t Stop Believin’.
But it was country singer Walker Hayes, who recently performed with Richard at the Mill, that decided he should be the one getting a blessing. He arrived at the celebration in a brand-new car and then gifted it to Richard.
Richard left the fairgrounds in style and with tears of joy in his eyes. He is slated to perform in the America’s Got Talent live shows in the upcoming weeks and we wish him all the best.
