He was a businessman,
entrepreneur, donor and
supporter of many. Regardless
of how Jack Goggins will be
remembered, his legacy in the
Flint area will echo for years to
come.
Goggins’ achievements
include co-founding Compak
Inc., which later expanded into
Webcore Packaging.
But one of Goggins’ greatest
accomplishments has come
more than a year after his death
on Thanksgiving Day 2010
— he’s going into the Greater
Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame
Saturday as the recipient of its
Special Services Award.
Although outgoing and
well-known throughout the
community, Goggins was a
humble man and wasn’t prone
to publicizing his philanthropy.
“After my father passed,
the family began going
through some of his personal
belongings and we began
to find thank you letters that
dated back to the 1970’s,” said
his son, Andy Goggins. “There
was a lot that we didn’t know.”
“He did a lot of things secretly
and that’s the way he wanted
it.”
One story that stands out
in Andy Goggins mind is
when Flint Powers Catholic
lost a Big Nine Conference
championship to arch-rival
Flushing, where the Goggins
family resided.
“My father told me I had
to stop by the Speakeasy in
Flushing and pick up the bill,”
said Andy Goggins. “What I didn’t know was that my father
was having me go pay for
the Flushing football banquet
and didn’t want to get the
recognition.”
When asked about
supporting the Raiders, Jack
simply said, “that’s our biggest
rivalry, but I still love Flushing
when they’re playing anyone
other than Powers.”
That was vintage Goggins
according to godson Bill Haley,
superintendent of Carman-
Ainsworth schools who also
coached basketball and
baseball at Powers./p>
That was vintage Goggins
according to godson Bill Haley,
superintendent of Carman-
Ainsworth schools who also
coached basketball and
baseball at Powers.
“Jack was one of the most
positive persons I have ever
met,” Haley said. “He was close
to Powers and all the teams in
the county. I never heard him
say no or anything negative in
terms of helping or supporting
someone.”
Goggins’ generosity and
giving spirit was acquired from
his father, Joe, who always
gave his time to his children.
At the age of 35, Jack took on
a leadership role to help build
a new Catholic high school.
At the time, the campaign
was unpopular, but Jack was
a visionary who knew it was
essential to secure the future of
Catholic secondary education.
