[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 175 (Tuesday, October 24, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1005]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HONORING DICK COOK

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JASON SMITH

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 24, 2023

  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker Pro Tempore, I rise today to honor 
Dick Cook of Crystal City, Missouri, a legend in high school sports who 
is being inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
  For 49 years, Mr. Cook coached at the high school level--34 of those 
years at Crystal City. Most of the time, he coached track and field, 
leading his 1984 and 1989 girls' teams to state championships in Class 
2. During his time as coach, Crystal City earned 16 state championships 
by individuals and relay teams in track.
  In the 1970s, he started the Jefferson County Jets Track Club, an AAU 
program that produced athletes who competed in the Big 8 Conference 
with one reaching the Olympics. He began his career in Poplar Bluff and 
coached a season at Herculaneum as well. But he spent most of his 
career in his hometown of Crystal City where he graduated high school 
in 1956 and graduated from the University of Missouri in 1960.
  No one could be prouder of his achievements than his wife Mary Ellen, 
his son Richard, and daughters Mary Beth, Jill, and Amy Jo. I 
congratulate Coach Cook on his induction into the Missouri Sports Hall 
of Fame this year and I am pleased to share his accomplishments today 
before the United States House of Representatives.

                          ____________________