[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 186 (Tuesday, November 14, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1566]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IN RECOGNITION OF MIKE COOK

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARK MEADOWS

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 14, 2017

  Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. Mike Cook of 
Caldwell County, North Carolina. On behalf of the people of Western 
North Carolina, I would like to thank Mr. Cook for over 40 years of 
service to our communities and congratulate him on his recent 
retirement.
  Mike Cook began his career in the fire service as a volunteer in 1977 
and eventually became a paid firefighter with the City of Lenoir in 
1980. He began working with the Caldwell County Fire Marshal's 
Emergency Management Office in 1985, as a hazmat planner with North 
Carolina Emergency Management in 1988, and as Area Coordinator and 
eventually Branch Manager in 2006. All told, Mr. Cook has aided in 
thirty-two FEMA disaster declarations, including deploying to 
Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina and to Lumberton, North Carolina 
during Hurricane Matthew. Mr. Cook was instrumental in the development 
of the North Carolina All Hazards Incident Management Teams, and 
maintains credentials as an Incident Commander with the Western Branch 
All Hazards Incident Management Team. He is an Eagle Scout and longtime 
volunteer in his community, serving on the Board of Directors of 
Patterson Fire Department since 1977 and currently serving as President 
of the Board.
  Over the course of his career, Mike has been honored with the North 
Carolina Department of Public Safety Gold Circle Award and the Colonel 
William A. Thompson Award and Employee of the Year by the North 
Carolina Emergency Management Association. He received special 
recognition for work throughout the Democratic National Convention in 
2012 from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and for response during 
Hurricane Floyd in 1999 from the North Carolina National Guard 139th 
Rear Tactical Operation Center.
  Mike Cook has earned the respect and friendship of the people of 
Caldwell County through his hard work and wide-ranging involvement in 
his community. For his service to Western North Carolina, I am honored 
to express to Mr. Cook the gratitude and best wishes of the people of 
North Carolina on his retirement.

                          ____________________