Larry Goodnight served as a Western Nevada College business instructor from 1977-2008.

Regretfully, Western Nevada College lost a linchpin from its Business program and a devoted member of the Foundation Board of Directors with the death of Larry Goodnight earlier this year.
Goodnight dedicated more than 30 years to the college, teaching business management, finance, economics and real estate classes.
His introduction to Western came in the spring of 1977 when the college needed someone immediately to fill an opening to teach a real estate class. At the time, Goodnight was working at Harrahs Lake Tahoe, teaching a class at Lake Tahoe Community College and planning to launch a real estate company: Mountain Investments.
The decision was easy. The opportunity to teach more students persuaded Goodnight to leave the gaming industry and devote his time to education and his new real estate business.
Larry always had a smile on his face and was always one of the first to volunteer for extra assignments and committee work at the college, said Geosciences Professor Dr. Winnie Kortemeier. He was respected by his peers and treated everyone with equal respect. His easy-going nature was so welcome at the college. I am sad to hear of his passing.
Goodnights decision to rearrange his life changed WNCs business department long term, providing it with continuity and growth. The flexibility of the colleges scheduling allowed Goodnight to teach management, finance, economics and real estate courses in the late afternoon and evenings.
That way I could keep my real estate business. I did that for 28 years, said Goodnight during a 2014 interview.
Goodnight also chaired the business department on three separate occasions and during this tenure he witnessed WNC transform from an occupation education provider to one that is more well-rounded and diversified.
In the late 70s and early 80s, we were 80 percent occupations, he said. My thrust was occupations because there was very few grads in two years and even fewer who transferred to a four-year school. They could come in and take a few classes and they could get a $5-an-hour raise.]
Goodnight was also instrumental in helping local businesses educate their personnel at their locations.
When I was first recruited by Harley-Davidson Financial Services, the organization was still very young and processes immature or non-existent, said WNC Foundation Board of Directors President Sean Davison. We were looking to both recruit and build talent that was not only proficient at performing the operations positions, yet could also help design processes, build systems and develop teams. With Larrys help, HDFS built a unique program where WNC instructors taught specific classes at HDFS in the evenings. This targeted and accessible approach helped us educate entire groups of individuals that would have otherwise not been achievable. This was such a creative solution and partnership. Were always grateful for Larrys problem-solving capabilities and his investment in the HDFS associates.
After retiring in 2008, Goodnight focused on his real estate company but came back to the college in 2014 to join the WNC Foundation Board of Directors.
Larry was a very special person who genuinely cared about Western Nevada College and what a degree or certification could do for students, said WNC Foundation Executive Director Niki Gladys, who worked with Larry after he became a Foundation Board member. His career outside the college really made a difference in helping students and providing resources to make Western better in the future. We will miss his devotion to the college, which extended well beyond his retirement.
Goodnight earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern California and his Masters degree in Business Administration at the University of Nevada, Reno. He also served two-and-a-half years in the U.S. Air Force.
Donations may be sent to Western Nevada College Foundation for a scholarship to a deserving business major. Contact Niki Gladys at 775-445-3239 or email foundation@wnc.edu.

Following his retirement, Larry Goodnight returned to WNC to serve on the Foundation Board. In this file photo, from left, former Rotary President Francisco Serrano, former Western Nevada College President Chet Burton, John Kinkella, ex-WNC dean of Student Services, and Larry Goodnight, former acting director of the WNC Foundation, accept a donation of $4,500 to the colleges Jump Start program from the Rotary Club of Carson City at the Carson Nugget in Carson City.