COMM U N I T Y
BY: CHELSEY KRAF T
F
or five years after graduating from college, Cody Goodnight searched for his profession, his calling. He did a lot of odd jobs to get by and pay the bills, but he couldn’t figure out what exactly he wanted to do long term. That is until a neighbor, who was a firefighter, encouraged Goodnight to fill out an application for the Norman Fire Department. Initially hesitant that it would not be a job he could do, Goodnight decided to give it a shot and he applied. “Then the good Lord just opened every door,” Goodnight said. “It was obviously meant to be because I had spent a ton of time praying, ‘Lord, whatever you want for me, wherever you want me, open those doors, close the ones that need to be closed.’ “Thirteen years later and I love coming to work. I love the guys I work with. I love what I do, and it’s such a blessing.” Goodnight joined the Norman Fire Department in January 2007 and spent six and a half years as a firefighter, followed by four years as a driver. For the past two years, he has served as a captain. During his time with the fire department, Goodnight has worked at nearly every station. In 1999, Goodnight moved from Cromwell to Norman to pursue a health and exercise science degree from the University of Oklahoma. While in college, he met his wife, Ali-
20 | April 2020
son, and the pair married in 2004. Since Alison was from Norman and his family was also nearby, the Goodnights decided to settle down in the community where they could enjoy the college atmosphere – and OU football. “I fell in love with Norman when I moved here, and she didn’t want to go anywhere else, so we made it home for our family,” Goodnight said. The Goodnights have three children, a 12-year-old son named Noah, a 4 ½-year-old adopted daughter named Lyla and a 2-year-old son named Luke. About a year and a half ago, the Goodnights, along with about 10 other people, started Timber Creek Fellowship Church. Alison serves as worship pastor for the church, and Goodnight said this group of people is meaningful to them. “Our church life is so much more than church,” Goodnight said. “The people we do life with and do church with, they’re family. We love them so much, and they’re just interwoven into our everyday lives and are a part of everything that we do. We’re always in communication with them, and church life and daily life are just all the same.” On his days off from the fire department, Goodnight works for Automatic Fire Control as a fire compression technician. He said the company is wonderful to work for, and it’s a common day off job for people from the Norman Fire Department as he’s one
of about 14 who work both places. Whenever he’s not at work, Goodnight’s primary focus is on spending every possible second with his family. “It’s funny, when you get older, doing things and hobbies become less important,” Goodnight said. “For me, it’s more about who I’m with, and there’s no one I’d rather be with than my wife and my kiddos. I love hanging out with them. I love watching them grow up. My wife is my best friend. To me, that’s where it’s at, and I’m a family guy.” When it comes to filling the captain’s role for the fire department, Goodnight views it not so much as a supervisory role but more so making sure his crew is taken care of and has everything needed to be successful and do a good job. Most importantly, Goodnight is focused on his guys as people, investing in them and letting them know he cares about them, while also reminding them there’s life outside the fire department. “That’s truly why I think the Lord has put me in this position, so I could affect guys in a positive way and positively affect their marriage, their finances, their home life, whatever it may be, just be a friend to them more than anything,” Goodnight said. “I’m not more talented. God just opened those doors so he could use me in that light.” – BSM
Photo by: Mark Doescher
Service Spotlight: Capt. Cody Goodnight
