Hometown Hero

Cook

John "Kim" Cook was selected as Our Hometown Hero at the Jasper/Lake Sam Rayburn Chamber of Commerce annual banquet.

Cook graduated from Jasper High School in 1983 and went on to Baylor and Texas A&M Universities. In 2000 he was appointed by then-governor George W. Bush to be the Austin director of Texas State-Federal relations.

By 2001, he followed Bush to Washington, D.C., as a senior officer in the Department of Labor. January 2006 he became senior policy advisor to Daniel W. Sutherland, officer for civil rights and civil liberties at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

As manager of the Civil Liberties University, Cook provides training for law enforcement personnel to ensure that civil rights and liberties are protected.

Cook lives in Vienna,Va., with his wife Jane and son Austin. He could not attend the banquet because they are expecting another son due in April. Michael Parker accepted the award on his behalf.