Local businesses donate minivan to Kentucky Air Guardsman

Staff Sgt. Neil Goodlin, a fire team member in the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Security Forces Squadron, sits behind the wheel of his family’s new minivan during an unveiling ceremony at Oxmoor Collision Center in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 20, 2015. The van was donated to Goodlin as part of the National Auto Body Council’s “Recycled Rides” program, which restores wrecked vehicles to like-new condition before giving them to needy individuals. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer)

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Local businesses donate minivan to Kentucky Air Guardsman

Jeff Lemr (left), manager of Oxmoor Collision Center, and Del Farmer, chief operating officer of Oxmoor Auto Group, unveil a restored Dodge Caravan at Oxmoor Collision in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 20, 2015. The van was being donated to Staff Sgt. Neil Goodlin, a fire team member in the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Security Forces Squadron, as part of a program that restores wrecked vehicles to like-new condition before giving them to needy individuals. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer)

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Local businesses donate minivan to Kentucky Air Guardsman

Staff Sgt. Neil Goodlin, a fire team member in the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Security Forces Squadron, smiles at his wife, Amanda, as the couple see their new minivan, a restored 2012 Dodge Caravan, during an unveiling at Oxmoor Collision Center in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 20, 2015. The van was donated to the Goodlins as part of the National Auto Body Council’s “Recycled Rides” program, which restores wrecked vehicles to like-new condition before giving them to needy individuals. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer)

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Local businesses donate minivan to Kentucky Air Guardsman

Dash Goodlin, the 6-month-old son of Staff Sgt. Neil Goodlin, plays with the keys to his family’s new minivan during an unveiling ceremony at Oxmoor Collision Center in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 20, 2015. The van was donated to Neil Goodlin, a fire team member in the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Security Forces Squadron, as part of the National Auto Body Council’s “Recycled Rides” program, which restores wrecked vehicles to like-new condition before giving them to needy individuals. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer)

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Local businesses donate minivan to Kentucky Air Guardsman

Amanda Goodlin, wife of the Kentucky Air National Guard’s Staff Sgt. Neil Goodlin, inspects the family’s new minivan with her son, Dash, and daughter, Ava, at Oxmoor Collision Center in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 20, 2015. The van was donated to the Goodlins as part of the National Auto Body Council’s “Recycled Rides” program, which restores wrecked vehicles to like-new condition before giving them to needy individuals. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer)

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Local businesses donate minivan to Kentucky Air Guardsman

Ava Goodlin, the 3-year-old daughter of Staff Sgt. Neil Goodlin, checks out her family’s new minivan during an unveiling ceremony at Oxmoor Collision Center in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 20, 2015. The van was donated to Neil Goodlin, a fire team member in the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Security Forces Squadron, as part of the National Auto Body Council’s “Recycled Rides” program, which restores wrecked vehicles to like-new condition before giving them to needy individuals. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer)

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Local businesses donate minivan to Kentucky Air Guardsman

Dash Goodlin, the 6-month-old son of Staff Sgt. Neil Goodlin, inspects his family’s new minivan during an unveiling ceremony at Oxmoor Collision Center in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 20, 2015. The van was donated to Neil Goodlin, a fire team member in the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Security Forces Squadron, as part of the National Auto Body Council’s “Recycled Rides” program, which restores wrecked vehicles to like-new condition before giving them to needy individuals. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer)

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Local businesses donate minivan to Kentucky Air Guardsman

Published Nov. 25, 2015
By Maj. Dale Greer
123rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Christmas came early for a Kentucky Air Guardsman and his family when two local businesses teamed up to give them a refurbished minivan here Nov. 20.

Staff Sgt. Neil Goodlin and his wife, Amanda, accepted the keys to a 2012 Dodge Caravan following a surprise unveiling at Oxmoor Collision Center. The gift was made possible through the National Auto Body Council's "Recycled Rides" program, which restores wrecked vehicles to like-new condition before giving them to needy individuals.

Progressive Insurance provided Goodlin's Caravan, and 15 technicians from Oxmoor Collision donated more than 50 hours of time to restore it, according to Del Farmer, chief operating officer of Oxmoor Auto Group.

"This is going to help us out a lot," said an excited Goodlin moments after the unveiling, which he attended with his wife and two children, Ava, 3, and Dash, 6 months. "We were down to one vehicle, a Ford F-150 pickup, and it didn't have enough room for both the kids' car seats. So this is pretty awesome.

"I can't thank the people at Oxmoor and Progressive enough, especially the guys who worked on it in the body shop and the paint shop. It looks amazing -- like a brand new car."

Goodlin is a fire team member in the Kentucky Air National Guard's 123rd Security Forces Squadron. He joined the unit three years ago following a six-year tour of active duty in the U.S. Air Force.