Many people will be tuning in Tuesday night to watch Richard Goodall, the Singing Janitor, compete in the finals of America’s Got Talent.
That includes local resident Tharon Geckeler. She is a fan of his singing and also his kindness.
Geckeler recognized Goodall at a local store while picking up something for her husband who was in the hospital at the time.
She asked Goodall if she could take a picture with him so she could show her husband, and said Goodall is so kind, down to earth and just a very good person.
Geckeler also recalled the first time her family heard him sing.
“We watched him for the first time in the hospital. Our family, we watched that. Then you could hear the nurses and all of them, that was the discussion the next couple days at the hospital. ‘Did you see it? Did you see it?’ and sharing videos and everything, so it was very exciting to know somebody from Terre Haute was going to make it and I think everybody at that time felt he would go as far as he possibly could,” Geckeler said.
Another fan also shared a touching story about Richard Goodall’s impact on kids at school. “Today, my 11-year-old grandson came home from Rio Grande Elementary in Terre Haute, Indiana, excited to share something special with me. The school had organized a parade in your honor, Richard. Although my grandson doesn’t know you personally, you have had a profound impact on his life, just as you’ve transformed your own and inspired countless others. He is a dreamer with big aspirations, dreams that many might dismiss as unrealistic. But what you have shown him and so many others is that dreams can indeed come true. You are a remarkable inspiration, and we all sincerely hope you win this.”
“We wish him the best and what it means for Terre Haute and the Wabash Valley. Our kids are excited. Our parents are excited. Our grandparents are excited. You can feel it, driving down downtown Third Street you see all these signs wishing him the best of luck, all our schools have their signs out too, and that’s truly an inspiration,” said Terre Haute Mayor Brandon Sakbun.
For most fans its Goodall’s singing that has drawn them in, for others it’s his underdog story and his demeaner as he performs on one of the world’s biggest stages.
“He has a great voice, and then he sang the journey song. Don’t stop believing. Like I don’t know about you guys in the audience, it gave me chills, gave me absolute chills and got chills even thinking about it” said local fan Logan Steward.
“That underdog story. What do you think of when you think of the Indiana of the world the Ohio’s, right, some of these ‘flyover states’. All this attention to the coast or to the south but that is you know the Midwest always fighting and scrap and saying hey you know this is where business comes to this is where you can raise a family. This is where we have Hoosier values and you see a lot of that in Richard (Goodall), that underdog story, which I think is very representative of communities like Terre Haute,” said Sakbun.
No matter what draws you in, and no matter if Goodall loses or wins, one thing is for sure. He has touched the hearts of millions and will always be in the hearts of those in Terre Haute, that have watched him become a superstar.
