[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 51 (Tuesday, April 20, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E570]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E570]]
                REMEMBERING THE LIFE OF COOPER L. YATES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF MILLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 20, 2004

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, i rise today to honor the life 
and memory of Cooper L. Yates, who died unexpectedly April 17, 2004.
  Cooper was from Cedartown, Ga., raised in Fort Walton Beach, attended 
Pensacola Junior College and earned a degree in fine art from the 
University of West Florida as a member of its charter class. Included 
among his early jobs in Pensacola were stints with JC Penny Co., WEAR-
TV and Gulf Power Company. After experience as creative director of AD/
Com Advertising Agency, he opened Creative Workshop, which grew into 
Hemmer & Yates Inc., where he was a principal and creative director. 
H&Y was a collection of artists, writers and other talented individuals 
who formed, during the 1980s, what many considered to be Pensacola's 
foremost advertising agency. Cooper's work was not limited to the local 
area; for a time he spread his publicist talents in Texas, California 
and Australia. For the past few years, he was president of Great 
Southern Advertising.
  He served as president of the Panhandle Tiger Bay Club and the Arts 
Council of Northwest Florida, was a board member of the Arts Council of 
Florida, vice-chairman of the Historic Pensacola Preservation Board, a 
member of the Architectural Review Board, the Committee of 100 and the 
Medical Education Research Foundation. He was creator and a Charter 
Master of the Irish Politicians Club, a member of the Pensacola 
Bicentennial Constitution Commission and an Adjunct Professor at both 
Pensacola Junior College and the University of West Florida.
  Mr. Speaker, Cooper Yates had many talents. He was a brilliant, 
creative innovator in public relations and advertising and could sit 
down at a moment's notice and spin a yarn that would make Mark Twain 
envious. His sense of humor was renowned throughout Northwest Florida. 
In fact on his most recent business card, he lists Hand Bills, Sandwich 
Boards, Church Fans and Sky Writing as a few of his many advertising 
services.
  Cooper was a true Renaissance man born 500 years too late. He was a 
pressman, a philosopher, a politician, a publicist, a pundit, a 
planner, a performer, a professor, and a poet. He was extremely well 
read, remarkably resourceful, and was infamous for his insatiable 
intellect and imaginative insight into intangible incomprehension.
  Cooper was captivated by politics--a self-proclaimed Yellow Dog 
Democrat--and for years community leaders in Pensacola, including 
politicians-both Democrats and Republicans, sought his counsel and 
advice. His keen sense of fashion, impeccable taste and eye for what 
was right aesthetically led to a style all his own. He would often be 
seen climbing out of his classic Corvette or bright red Land Rover 
Defender wearing a tropical, button-down shirt and his signature hat, 
ready to tell an anecdote about a local politician or quote a clever 
phrase from Hunter S. Thompson.

  He was loved and will be missed by his mother, Bessie L. Yates, with 
whom he regularly attended services at the First Baptist Church in Fort 
Walton Beach; his daughter, Robin Michelle (Shelley) Yates Boudreau 
(Josh); his sister, Betty (Bett) L. Yates Adams (Dixon); brothers 
Lawden H. Yates Jr. (Judy) and Donald N. Yates (Teresa); beloved 
grandsons, Elliott Aejenour and Samuel Cooper; nephews and nieces 
Christopher, Amanda, Christian, Paul, Alice, Melissa, Cooper and 
Nathan; chiliheads Jerry, Mike, Greg, Jim, Caleb, Bob and 6:10 (always 
late) Don; partner Melanie Brown, and many others far and wide.
  Mr. Speaker, Cooper Yates may have left us, but his memory and his 
spirit will live on throughout Northwest Florida. And I'm sure if they 
need a Sky Writer in heaven, Cooper's already got the job.

                          ____________________