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Featured Member - Dan Cook
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is our featured photographer for this issue of SEOPA News. Cook is an award-winning photographer who is as good at finding outdoor stories, and writing them with great detail, as anyone in the business. This stems from an early interest in journalism and a lifelong fascination with sports personalities. From football stars to professional anglers, and expert campers to wildlife officers, sports figures have always intrigued him. He has a fondness for the odd, funny, sad or sentimental stories these people offer.
A native of Sunny South, Ala., Cook graduated from high school in nearby Bay Minette, and then earned a journalism degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1963. Dan’s sister still lives in Sunny South, where the siblings own property that’s part of their great-grandfather’s original estate acquired with a land grant signed by President Andrew Jackson.
Cook’s first newspaper influence came at age 10 while visiting the Selma (Ala.) Times-Journal office with his dad. Then, while at Southern Miss, he wrote for the school newspaper. His big break came in 1968 when E.T. Bales, then sports editor of the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Times-Free Press, contacted him to write a fishing column. Cook soon inherited the outdoor page and became outdoor editor in the 1980’s. He served in that capacity until semi-retirement in 2005.
Cook and his wife Freda were married in 1972. They have two grown sons and have lived in Ringgold, Ga., just south of Chattanooga, for 36 years.
Unless otherwise noted, all photographs in this issue are the work of Dan Cook. He also provided a Craft Improvement piece about gathering photographs during conference trips, and he shares some fun memories in our “Remember When...” feature.
Next time you see Dan, ask him about his family tree, the last time he went fishing, or just look at him and say, “newspaper man.” He’s sure to tell you a good story.
Check out Dan’s work in the August 2009 issue of SEOPA News.
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