Johnny Cook may have been born in Birmingham, but he’s quick to note Cullman has since become his new home.

“I was born, and spent about my first 25 years, in Birmingham, and went to Huffman High School,” he said. “I met my wife, Dawn, who is from Cullman, while she was going to UAB, we were on a blind date. We got married a year later, had our first child two years after that, and moved to Cullman.”

In the years since relocating to Cullman in 1986, Cook has become involved in everything from local business to local politics — he currently serves on the Cullman city council — and said he couldn’t have picked a better place to raise his family.

“This is just such a great community,” he said.

Cook worked as a car salesman for his father-in-law when he first arrived in Cullman, and also founded an area car wash. In 1995 he went to work for Premier Bank of the South, where he has remained for the past 16 years.

“I started as a loan processor at the bank and worked my way up the ranks,” he said. “I went to the University of South Alabama Banking School, and to all the classes and seminars, and now I’m vice-president of the bank. I really worked my way up to where I am today.”

That business experience has helped him while working for the city, Cook said, as he tries to bring a common sense approach to local government.

“I think that plays a key factor, because it’s important to manage and see business as a whole,” he said. “To run the city effectively and efficiently, you use things like maintaining a budget, and staying in the black. We’ve made some hard decisions, but they’ve proven successful.”

Though his city council seat — which was won approximately two years ago — is Cook’s first public office, it was not his first taste of the political arena.

“Back in 2000, I made a run for Cullman County Probate Judge, the year (longtime judge) Tom Burleson stepped down,” he said. “I didn’t win, but I always try to stay involved on some level, be it civic organizations, booster clubs and things like that. I’ve always had an interest in being involved.”

It was that interest that led him to run for city council in the last municipal election, Cook said.

“As a city resident I wanted to do something more, and in 2008 I knew there would be some opportunities to contribute with the vacancies left behind on the council,” he said. “I had no agenda, or anything like that. I just wanted to be a part of the decision making, and try to help Cullman move forward.”

Though his political tenure has been relatively short, Cook said he has already faced his fair share of challenges.

The biggest? The aftermath of the wet/dry alcohol vote in Cullman last year.

“Writing the alcohol ordinance was my biggest challenge, with trying to give people what they want, but also maintaining the integrity of the community for those who don’t,” he said. “My family lives here, and I want this to continue to be a great, safe community. Helping to make the decisions to write that 55 page document was one of the toughest things I’ve ever had to do.”

That short period of time has also been filled with accomplishments, Cook said, with the local economy surviving, and some municipal projects coming to fruition.

“We brought Royal Technologies in, and Cash Acme has expanded,” he said. “The streetscape project is also going well, and bringing a new look to downtown. We’re also working on the Duck River reservoir.”

For the remaining year and a half of his term, Cook said he also has some big plans he would like to see implemented.

“I’d love to see Hwy. 157 expanded into a four-lane, since that leads to our only medical facility,” he said. “I’d also like to see us maintain and expand our infrastructure.”

Though his job with the bank and his roles as a city councilor keep him busy, Cook said he has to work hard to keep his priorities straight.

“I basically spend as much time as I can with my family when I’m off, and I love to travel, though I don’t get to travel as much as I’d like,” he said. “Nowadays, I try to live that vicariously through my kids, who do. I also like horseback riding, and just anything outdoors.”



* Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 220.