The Dave Goode Memorial Foundation Launches at U.S. Water Ski Nationals
It has only be nearly 7 months since Dave passed away and we are currently in Louisiana at the U.S. Water Ski Nationals to honor his legacy. We felt this was a perfect time to launch the Dave Goode Memorial Foundation to serve as a way to keep his legacy alive and help support up and coming young skiers.
His wife Dawn Goode serves as the Executive Director of the Foundation and sitting on her newly forming committee is Regina Jaquess who has been like a daughter to Dave and Dawn over the years. Regina has been working with the Goode's for going on 27 years and is committed to helping Dawn get the foundation off the ground. Here is a short summary of what Regina had to say when we reached out about how Dave impacted her life.
"It is not possible to sum up with one quote the influence Dave Goode has had on my life. Dave Goode asserted his influence on my skiing career in 1995. This is the moment Dave introduced himself to a young Girls 1 skier with pigtails and immediately noticed the fire in my eyes. He believed in my potential at an early age.
Fast forward through the years with the incredible support from Dave, I have become a 13 time world record holder and a 10 time world champion. The past several years I have seen him continue to support up and coming juniors wanting to take their performances to the next level like he did with me years ago. Through this foundation we will continue to provide support to juniors to honor the vision and passion Dave Goode showed to so many young skiers just like me in 1995.
It’s too hard to put down a sentence for 27 years." - Regina
David Paul Goode, founder and president of Ogden-based GOODE Ski Technologies, died Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020, while taking part in one of his many passions, piloting his airplane.
Dave had a distinguished career in both the snow and water ski industries as a creative innovator of carbon-based products that brought cutting-edge advancements to both sports.
Dave was raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he attended Andover High School, graduating in 1973. At age 19, Dave achieved his dream of joining the U.S. Ski Team. After suffering a serious ankle injury, Dave focused his energy on design improvements to snow ski products and founded his first company, SAC, a ski accessory company. He soon received his first patent, the first of twenty in his lifetime, for the Racer Spacer and began traveling around the country selling his products from his van, selling over one million units in the first year. He next began working on improvements to ski poles, where his design concepts and use of advanced materials revolutionized the product. Today, GOODE ski poles continue to hold a third of the retail market and half of the rental market.
Dave then combined what he learned in the snow ski industry with his passion for water skiing to introduce the world’s first carbon-fiber water ski. Within a few years of entering the market, Dave’s skis held both the Men’s and Women’s world slalom records, and have held a world record continuously for over twenty years. A sponsor of water ski events and athletes around the world, Dave and his company have been a consistent influence in, and supporter of, the sport. While serving as the title sponsor of the GOODE U.S. Water Ski National Championships for over 20 years, GOODE water skis have won more national slalom titles than all other manufacturers combined.
In 1999, Dave married the love of his life, Dawn Itin, and in 2004, they moved GOODE Ski Technologies to Ogden, Utah, where they set about expanding the company. Dave and Dawn immediately immersed themselves in the community, helping to transform Ogden into the outdoor industry hub that it is today.
A 2014 USA Water Ski Hall of Fame Award Distinction recipient, and a member of the Michigan Water Ski Hall of Fame, Dave was an accomplished international competitor in both water skiing and snow skiing, most recently winning the downhill event at the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Alpine Masters National Speed Series, and a bronze medal in trick skiing at the Senior Pan American Water Ski Championships.
A quick friend and generous mentor, Dave will be remembered for his kindness and endless support to many.
Dave is survived by his beloved wife, Dawn, his parents Paul and Mimi Goode, one sister; Barb Drndak (John), his children Michael David Goode and Lisa Goode McHugh (John), his stepchildren Whitney Hebard Felkl (Hans) and Gregory Robert Hebard (Adrianna), and his granddaughters Maple Julia McHugh and Sunny Elizabeth Hebard, with a new addition on its way. .