Jorie Skipper learns that Keizer Police Department Sgt. Jeff Goodman and his wife, Liz, will triple her $1,000 scholarship from the Keizer Police Association, the Keizer police union.
McNary graduate Jorie Skipper knew she was getting a $1,000 scholarship from the Keizer Police Association Friday, May 29, but Jeff and Liz Goodman had another surprise in store.
After officers Kevin DeMarco and David Zavala presented Skipper with the $1,000 Shayla Goodman Memorial Scholarship, Sgt. Jeff Goodman announced that he and his wife would triple the award to $3,000.
Goodman is retired but still working with the Keizer Police Department while the city works out the finances to hire a new officer. His daughter, Sheila “Shayla” Goodman, is the scholarship’s namesake.
As a parting gift, members of the Keizer police union (KPA) asked if Jeff and Liz would like to be part of presentation this year. The couple opted to take that participation a step further.
Goodman said he’d always kept the presentation of the scholarship at arm’s length, because Shayla’s death is still raw, as it would be for most parents. Shayla died at age 18, the result of being injured in an ATV accident in Florence, Ore., in 2010.
“The scholarship is important because I know that there are good kids that are coming up in our community. Both of our kids were raised here, went to school here, went to McNary,” Jeff said.
“Shayla always dreamed of going to college and this is a way to help another student reach that goal,” added Liz.
Skipper plans to attend Seattle Pacific University and study nursing.