John L. Cook
Class Year: 2010
County: Sanilac
Title: Owner, Cooks Drainage Management, Inc.
Bio:As a young 4-H member I took woodworking and electrical and it has helped me all through my life. With the skills I learned I also became a leader of many young people. Our club joined another club and I went on to become a member of the 4-H council and then went onto the fair board. I believe the 4-H program helped me to become a hard worker and finish what I started. I now have many friends that I have met at 4-H meetings and at the fairgrounds.
In 1963 John Cook started his own business, Cooks Drainage Management, Inc., a business he owned until he retired and his son purchased it. He believes strongly in serving his community and as such served on the Village of Peck Council and was elected mayor for the Village of Peck in 1972 a position he held for 24 years. He was also a Village of Peck fireman and served on the Sanilac County Economic Development board. Today, he still serves on the board as a consultant for the village. Cook was a member of the Sanilac County 4-H Council for many years and then moved to the Sanilac County Fair Board where he currently serves as president. He has been a 4-H volunteer for over 55 years and has been honored as a Sanilac County Friend of 4-H, the first Sanilac County 4-H Senior King and was selected as the 1996 Michigan 4-H Volunteer of the Year. Cook has been a member of the Land Improvement Contractors Association of America and served as the national president and vice president. Cooks faith is also very important to him and as such, he has held many roles with the Peck Methodist Church. Additionally, Cook and his wife have traveled to Haiti on two mission trips the first to build an airplane landing trip and the second to build gates to keep island goats out of the garden.