Alf Goodykoontz, Jr.

Alf “Goody” Goodykoontz, Jr. was inducted into the Emory & Henry College Sports Hall of Fame in 1976 in recognition of his accomplishments as a sportswriter.

Goodykoontz attended the college from 1946-48. As a student at Emory & Henry, Goodykoontz worked in sports information. After leaving E&H he assumed a position as sportswriter with the Radford News Journal. Goodykoontz later spent two years in the United States Army before joining the Richmond Times-Dispatch as a reporter in 1952.

In 41 years with Richmond Newspapers he rose from reporter to senior vice president and executive editor. He held numerous state and national offices in journalism organization and was a nationally respected figure among newspaper professionals. He received the Emory & Henry Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, the George Mason Award for service to Virginia Journalism in 1973 and the national Wells Key Award in 1982 for outstanding service to the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, which supports the educational programs of the Society of Professional Journalists. He was inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame in 1992. In 1993, he received an honorary degree from Emory & Henry in recognition of his distinguished career in journalism and extensive volunteer work on behalf of the college.

Alf Goodykoontz died on October 20, 2003 at the age of 74.