Trail Dedication Ceremony Celebrates The Cook Family Foundation

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The Cook Family Foundation staff and others enjoyed being at the ribbon cutting for the James Miner River Trail on Tuesday, June 10th, 2025.

From left to right: Chuck Kerridge, Corunna Parks & Recreation Commission Chair; Carl Ludington, Owosso City Council member; Ron Baker, former Engineer for the City of Owosso; Phil Hathaway former Planner for the City of Owosso; Tom Cook, CFF Co-Director; Rachel Osmer, CFF Associate Director; Lorraine Baker, former OPS teacher; Bryan Marks, Great Lakes Fusion Owner; Aubrey Reeves, CFF Intern; Yvette Collard, CFF Director of Scholarships; Amy Fuller, Assistant City Manager for the City of Owosso; and Rob Teich, Jr., City of Owosso Mayor

The Foundation provided a grant that helped the James Miner River Trail Joint Powers Committee cross the finish line for completing the trail in conjunction with the City of Owosso Government and the City of Corunna. The work for this trail spans across generations, and many folks who contributed were able to attend the ribbon cutting.

We hope folks will take time to explore this span of the river trail, and sit on the beautiful new bench (unveiled at the ribbon cutting).

In addition to a trail map, the newest trail resting spot includes a quote from Tom Cook – emphasizing how important the river is to our community, our families, and our legacy.

“Behind my back less than ten strides away is a river I canoed with my grandfather, and then my father, and then my children. Five decades of paddling with not only family, but friends old and new, has tied me to this place. Something more, something that comes from time spent outdoors and knowledge gained from others, grounds me here.” (The quote is from a blog post Tom wrote about the Foundation’s efforts to protect some wild lands along the Shiawassee River).

Cook Family Foundation University of Michigan Scholarship Recipients Celebrated at Annual Event

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Cook Family Foundation Co-Executive Director Tom Cook (right) and University of Michigan’s Alicia Marting (left) stand with scholarship winners (left to right) Jack Challender, Truman Danek, and Emily Rathka. Photo Credit: David Lorne Photographic

The Cook Family Foundation held their annual University of Michigan Scholarship Recipients celebration on Tuesday, May 13th at the Lebowsky Center in Owosso. Over 150 family, friends, school representatives, past scholarship recipients, and other supporters attended the event to acknowledge the area’s best and brightest.

“Fifty-one students, from ten high schools in the Shiawassee County area, are being recognized tonight for the scholarships they have earned to attend the University of Michigan,” said Cook Family Foundation President, Paul Cook at the event. “This year, the scholarships awarded by the Foundation, the University of Michigan, and others totaled over $726,652.00. With these awards, the Foundation will have helped more than 1,000 students attend the University of Michigan’s Flint, Dearborn, and Ann Arbor campuses.” 

Continuing to highlight these outstanding students, Tom Cook, Co-Executive Director of the Cook Family Foundation shared, “Of the students being celebrated tonight, seven are class valedictorians and four are salutatorians, and most are among the top ten in their class. As a group, these students also represent class presidents, National Honor Society members, student council officers, team captains, and leaders of other student groups. Thirteen students were recognized as Shiawassee Scholars in eighth grade. We are proud of their efforts and look forward to seeing what their futures hold.”

Emily Rathka – the Bruce and Jackie Cook Scholarship winner with Tom Cook. Photo Credit: David Lorne Photographic.

Emily Rathka of Laingsburg High School was awarded the Bruce and Jacqueline Cook Scholarship, one of the highest accolades in the greater Shiawassee County region. This scholarship, recently endowed after the passing of Bruce and Jacqueline Cook, provides four years of undergraduate tuition to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, with a value in excess of $70,000. 

Emily is the daughter of Dan and Kate Rathka and is the valedictorian of her class – taking all of the AP courses available to her. She is the president of the Young Women’s Club at her church, as well as the FFA Greenhand Team. Emily was the captain of her cross-country team, ran track and field, was a marching band color guard member and flutist, worked as a program counselor at the MSU Gifted and Talented Education summer camp, and also taught piano lessons – all while being dually enrolled at Lansing Community College. Emily is enrolled in UM-Ann Arbor’s School of Nursing with plans to earn a BSN, with a minor in Global Health (while working as a medical assistant). Her long-term goal is to earn a Master’s or Doctorate to become a nurse practitioner to work in international health in foreign and/or war torn countries.

In addition to Rathka, the evening’s additional honorees received funding ranging from $3,000 to $20,000.

In recognition of the Foundation’s original benefactor, the Donald Cook Scholarship was awarded to two students this year: Jack Challender of Corunna High School and Truman Danek of Chesaning High School. The Donald Cook Scholarship, endowed by the Cook Family Foundation, is awarded by the University of Michigan to a student attending the College of Literature, Science, & the Arts and is worth $20,000. Donald Cook was a 1924 graduate of the University of Michigan who established the Foundation with his wife Florence-etta in 1978.  

Jack Challender, of Corunna High School, is the valedictorian of his class and a Shiawassee Scholar. He is the son of Timothy and the late Lori Challender. Jack has served as vice-president of the National Honor Society, a Cavalier Ambassador, and a student council member – all while participating in band and golf. He plans to study Political Science and, perhaps, continue on to pursue a law degree.

Truman Danek, of Chesaning Union High School, is the son of Jason and Amy Danek. He is graduating with highest honors at the top of his class. Truman was the captain of his track and field team, achieving Academic All-State honors in 2024. He also played soccer. Truman plans to study Psychology and, perhaps one day, receive a doctorate in that field.

In addition to the three students mentioned above, other recipients included, from Byron Area High School: Zerik Crawford, Emma Davis, Ryleigh Irwin (UM-Flint Early College), and Hannah Volkening; from Chesaning Union High School: Jeffrey Luce, Joslyn McGough, and Skylar Wissinger; from Corunna High School: Logan Fox, Paul Galesk, Stori Jenkins, Aidan Lavery, Noah Mckinney and Dayne Zeeman; from Durand Area High School: Connor Burke, Malerie Freese, Madeline Frelich (2024 Graduate), Timothy Halleaux, Elisha Lee, Aidan Nazarian (2024 Graduate), Landen Schneider-Janes, Alison Walter, Andrew Weaver, and Sebestian Wells; from Laingsburg High School: Mirabella Carolan, Evelyn Logghe, and Lucas Shastal (UM-Flint Early College); from Morrice High School: Payton Chapko, Alexis Lademann, and Peyton Lamb; from New Lothrop High School: Rylee Elkins and Lieu Vincke (UM-Flint Early College; from Ovid-Elsie Area High School: Riley Clark; from Owosso High School: Charles Agnew, Zeriah Barnhill, Addison Collard, Owen Feldpausch, Allyson LaMay (2024 Graduate), Elizabeth McCroan, Nicholas McCurdy, Jordan Newman (UM-Flint Early College), Noah Norman (2023 Graduate), Matthew Shattuck, and Ayden Woodruff (UM-Flint Early College); and, from Perry High School: Spencer Griffith, Jocelyn Hessling, Caleb Knickerbocker, Annabelle Kue (2024 Graduate), and Jordyn Pangborn.

Cook Family Foundation Issues Statement in Support of Local Nonprofit Organizations

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As a philanthropy with its roots in Shiawassee County, the Cook Family Foundation supports local efforts to improve our community. Vital to this work are locally-based, locally-governed nonprofit organizations. Far from here, our nation is overhauling its policy and programs that help those in need, provide our healthcare, protect the environment, and promote arts and culture. We don’t yet know how these changes will play out in our community, but those of us who work locally to address these issues are committed to our mission to serve. 

Nonprofit Partner Executive Directors at a Finances Workshop.

Local private funding makes up the majority, if not the entirety, of the budgets of most Shiawassee nonprofits. However, all nonprofits depend on the state and federal government for their legal designation as charitable organizations. Many of them receive small government grants for specific programs, new facilities, or added staff. A few of them receive a large amount of public funds to operate programs on behalf of governmental agencies because they are better able to serve specific community needs. Some of these organizations have recently lost funding, or are worried about their future; many have been criticized for their work.  

The Cook Family Foundation stands in solidarity with our nonprofit partners and continues our long-standing support of Shiawassee organizations. Recently we joined other funders in the philanthropic sector in signing the Commitment for Trust-Based Action through the National Center for Family Philanthropy and Grantmakers for Effective Organizations. We also signed on to the Council on Foundations’ commitment to protect philanthropic freedom, with an emphasis on maintaining the freedom to direct our resources to a wide variety of important services, issues, and places without fear of retribution at a national level. 

Signing these commitments is not a one-time action and our commitment is deeper than a signature on a line. Rather, these actions display our unwavering support for nonprofits, and a commitment to respond to nonprofit needs in creative, trust-based ways. The Foundation cannot fill the gaps that loom for some of our partners who receive large percentages of federal dollars. However, the Foundation does want to make clear our support for the many missions of local groups and their critical contributions to the quality of life for all Shiawassee residents. 

The Cook Family Foundation is nonpartisan, both by choice and federal law. None of our nonprofit partners are political organizations; all work to improve the local community.  In these times, we feel it important to focus attention on the policy components of actions by the Executive Branch and Congress and their ramifications on local providers of services. State and federal policy changes frequently; our goal is to help ensure local nonprofits can adapt to those changes and meet their mission. 

As the charitable sector enters a new, but yet unknown, era, our nonprofit organizations need to re-affirm their mission, refine their programs, and strengthen their capacity.  From access to food to mental health services, Shiawassee nonprofits provide vital resources to support our community. For more than two decades, the Cook Family Foundation has provided technical assistance and financial support to our local nonprofits because we believe that they offer the most effective way to serve our community.  

Historically, the Cook Family Foundation supports our nonprofit partners during good and bad times. Meeting our nonprofits where they are, based on their needs during times of emergencies, is something we pride ourselves on. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, the landscapes for nonprofits shifted; they had to answer different needs, find different resources, and literally adjust to save lives. Many lessons were learned, which we captured in a 2021 report.

During the COVID timeframe funding for nonprofits shifted, and the Foundation modified how we issued funds to our partners. Funding was offered in a variety of formats to our nonprofit partners, and they could request consulting support to help navigate operational support. As in the past, we maintain our trust in local nonprofits and plan to continue to adjust to meet our partners’ needs.

We trust our nonprofits to do good work, and rely on their input to decide on our grants.  Trust-based philanthropy is not a new concept. It is not new to the Foundation, and it is not new to many individual donors. Now is the time to commit more to unrestricted funding, and to commit more funding in general to those nonprofits on the front line of dealing with change.   The Cook Family Foundation pledges to increase our emphasis on trust-based, community philanthropy across Shiawassee County.  Please join us.