As a freshman at Ole Miss, Chip Cook’s parents took his car away because he kept leaving campus to see his girlfriend back in Missouri — punishment that seemed harsh at the time but, in the long run, may have deepened and sealed his affinity for the University of Mississippi.
“I just love this place. I can’t get enough of Ole Miss,” said Cook, a 1992 graduate of the UM School of Business Administration and member of the golf team.
His depth of loyalty to his alma mater has inspired him to give back: to his fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega (ATO), to the business school and most recently to Ole Miss Athletics.
With a desire to support facility enhancements and scholarships for student-athletes, Cook recently gave $500,000 to the Vaught Society — the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation’s (OMAF) fundraising level that provides players with financial assistance, academic guidance and wellness support.
OMAF CEO Denson Hollis expressed his gratitude for Cook’s generosity.
“It has been awesome getting to know Chip and Marlene and hearing their deep love and pride for Ole Miss,” Hollis said. “Few people embody the spirit and passion for Ole Miss and Ole Miss Athletics quite like Chip Cook. That passion has been the driving force behind this transformational gift, which will leave a lasting and meaningful impact across our entire department.”
Cook is vice president of corporate development for the Springfield, Missouri, manufacturing business, Loren Cook Company, that his grandfather started in 1941.
“We’re basically producing ventilation equipment — anything that involves moving air, such as kitchen exhaust fans, bathroom fans, lab fans and commercial ventilation. That’s what we do, and I’ve worked there since I was a kid.
“My dad put me on the assembly line, but I was also sweeping floors and cleaning toilets, and I thought that was the worst thing in the world as a kid.”
Looking back, Cook sees that the experience of learning the business from the ground up taught him great lessons: how to be team player, that every job is important, social skills and more.
“I can still go out in the shop today where we have great longevity among our employees and I’ll walk the assembly line. They’re always giving me static, like ‘Remember when you were working on the assembly line?’ and this that and the other,” Cook said, smiling.
Then the youngest family member in the business, Cook worked his way up. After a stint in customer service, he became manager of regional sales for the southeast United States. Now, he helps run the family-owned business with his parents, brother and sister.
As often as possible, Cook and his wife, Marlene, return to campus, the source of some of his best memories: playing golf for the Rebels and making lifelong friends through his fraternity.
One of those friends is Steve Mullen, once Cook’s roommate and now associate director of marketing and membership for the Ole Miss Alumni Association.
“Chip was always a die-hard Rebel fan but moreover he’s a fan of the university as a whole,” Mullen said. “He has a real affinity for his alma mater that goes deeper than most. He just had a great experience here as a student, a fraternity member and as a student-athlete.”
Cook credits his affinity to being somewhat captive to campus.
“When my parents took away my car, they gave me a bike, so I spent my entire pledgeship at the ATO house,” he recalled. “I think that’s one of the reasons why I never really got any ribbing, because I was always there. I lived in Stockard, but I was always at the fraternity house. They were such great brothers; I’m still active with my ATO family.”
Cook added that he “can’t get enough of Ole Miss” and hopes to have a home near campus someday, where the family legacy is continuing. His niece, Katy Daugherty of Ozark, Missouri, is currently a freshman.
“She loves her roommates and was initiated into Phi Mu sorority, where she has made a ton of friends, gotten involved in her sorority Bible study and has found a church in Oxford,” Cook said. “Her parents, my sister and brother-in-law, are invested and love Ole Miss too!”
To make a gift to Ole Miss Athletics, visit CHAMPIONS. NOW. or contact William Fisher at fisher@givetoathletics.com or 662-915-7159.
By Bill Dabney/UM Foundation