Every city has a story and woven into Phoenix’s is a family whose service and leadership helped shape the city we know today. For Anthony “Kerry” Goode, that story is deeply personal.

“I am an Arizona native, so I was kind of raised around the city,” Kerry Goode said in a video produced by the city. “My grandfather did 30 years with the Public Works Department. My uncle (Calvin Goode), of course, everyone knows him. He did 11 consecutive terms, 22 years with the city.”

In the Goode family, service was not just a value. It was a way of life.

“Community was always something that was big and was an example that was shown to us growing up,” Kerry Goode said in the video. “So, working at the city allowed us opportunities to help out our community.”

Today, that example of service continues through Kerry Goode’s own career with the city of Phoenix. He has worked for the city for more than 20 years and currently serves as a senior user technology specialist at the Phoenix Convention Center. With a background in IT and a degree in computer science and networking, Kerry Goode plays a behind-the-scenes role that helps keep one of the city’s most active public spaces running smoothly.

Early in his career, Kerry Goode was guided by the example of his uncle, Calvin Goode, the late Phoenix city councilmember, civil rights advocate and educator whose legacy is honored across the city today.

“When I first started, I would always see him at City Hall, in the halls, and it was just always nice seeing him,” Kerry Goode said in the video. “But outside of being a city councilman, he was a great uncle.”

One memory in particular has stayed with Kerry Goode since childhood.

“In sixth grade, we were having a parade at our school, and he had a Model T, an old Model T car,” Kerry Goode said in the video. “I was like, I bet you my uncle would come there. And we looked up his phone number in the Yellow Pages and we called him. Sure enough, he picked up. I said, ‘Hey, we’re having this parade. Would you bring your car?’ And surprisingly, he said yes.”

Calvin Goode drove the car to the school with the top down, alongside Kerry Goode’s aunt Georgie, and let his nephew ride with him in the parade.

“So, I got to ride with him,” Kerry Goode said in the video. “So I was the man that day. It was a great memory of him.”

Today, Calvin Goode’s lifetime of service is honored across Phoenix, from a downtown building that bears his name to a mural in Eastlake celebrating his legacy and the community he helped shape.

“Eastlake is an important part of our history, an important part of our community,” Kerry Goode said in the video. “So seeing this is amazing. It just brings a smile and pride to my heart.”

For Kerry Goode, the legacy is not just about history or recognition. It is about carrying that sense of responsibility forward in everyday work.

“Remembering our history, remembering where our parents and grandparents came from and the struggle that they went through to try to make things better for us,” he said in the video. “When our name is spoken, you know I’m bringing something positive to our name and something that would make my grandfather and my uncle proud.”

In neighborhoods like Eastlake and in the quiet, consistent work of public service across Phoenix, that legacy continues to live on. For Kerry Goode, that legacy is simple, meaningful, and deeply rooted in family.

“I definitely take pride in them,” he said in the video. “And I would hope that they’d be proud of me.”

Editor’s note: The above was repulished from a city of Phoenix news release.