BILL COOK, East Texas Representative

Bill was introduced to working with youth, while a teenager himself, as a Jr. Counselor in summer camps.  In the 1970s he regularly counseled and then, with his wife Barbara directed these summer camps for boys and girls.  From those initial counseling experiences, Bill knew he enjoyed the feeling of satisfaction he received when teaching and encouraging others.  While his career as a Certified Public Accountant allowed him to spend one week each summer in camp work, in 1998 Bill had a breakthrough opportunity to spend regular time with local youth as a substitute teacher in his home community. The school counselor noticed his easy interaction with the students and recruited him to help in after school counseling sessions with at risk youth.

 In early 1999 the Lord opened a door allowing Bill to work with incarcerated youth as a volunteer chaplain in Brazoria County, Texas.  This resulted in many one-on-one mentoring relationships with the juveniles and in many instances with their parents.  When one of these juveniles was sentenced to the Texas Youth Commission (TYC), Bill applied for and was approved as a volunteer mentor at the San Saba TYC facility in order to continue the mentoring relationship started at the county juvenile detention center.

Today, Bill is an approved volunteer at several TYC facilities throughout Texas, mentoring youth from his home county as well as youth from other counties in the state.  Bill was recognized by TYC as the Outstanding Individual Volunteer among institutions in 2003.  He has also participated in outreach events at juvenile institutions as organized by various ministries in Texas and surrounding states.

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