The current City of Hope Board of Directors presents former City Manager Catherine Cook with a plaque in recognition of her service to the town. From Left to Right, is Reginald Easter, Linda Clark, Cook, Trevor Coffee, Mark Ross, Steve Montgomery and current Mayor Don Still.

Having stepped down as Hope City Manager just a week ago, Catherine Cook was thrown a celebration of her career at UAHT that drew more than four dozen attendees and featured many speakers who attested to the quality of Cook’s 32 years of service to the town, including 26 as city manager.

The party began at 4:00 p.m. when a lovely spread of finger foods were served in Hempstead Hall’s banquet room as three screens showed many photos of Cook at work and at home and also projected Cook’s listed achievements which included the following:

• Building a soccer complex.

• Adding to the city police department headquarters a criminal investigations division wing and a firing range as well as an evidence control facility.

• Establishing a Geographic Information Systems program.

• Expanding the landfill.

• Creating a full-time airport attendant position.

• Starting the Downtown Streetscape project.

• Helping establish the Charitable Christian Clinic facility.

• Carrying forward the Second Street initiative.

• Remodeling and modernizing City Hall.

Hope Mayor Don Still acted as host, first announcing that while state representative Danny Watson could not be there he had sent word of how much he appreciated working with Cook over the years. He then introduced state Senator-elect Steve Crowell.

“What are you going to do?” Crowell asked. “Thirty-two years is an amazing accomplishment for a public servant. As we all know, many of us in this room, public service is difficult at times, because you can never do everything right. And people like you one minute, and hate you the next. It is an honor for the state senators of Arkansas to present you with a proclamation of your service for 32 years.” Here, Crowell invited Cook to the podium to receive it.

Next was Brendan Spaulding, who is Field Representative and works in Constituent Services for U.S. Representative Bruce Westerman, who read a statement made by the Congressman on the House floor about Cook’s services.

Chase Emerson from Senator John Boozman’s staff also congratulated Cook, saying she had been one of the first local officials he had met with when starting his job ten years ago. He read a congratulatory letter from Senator Boozman.

The next speaker was local physician LaDell Douglas who said he had known Cook for 28 years and enjoyed working with her in his capacity as member of the Hope, Water and Light Commission and while with the Hempstead County Economic Development Corporation. “We have partnered together and brought about major changes in the City of Hope. And also Hempstead County. With your hard work and ability to negotiate, businesses have grown, industry has grown and with the foundation that you laid, I think things will continue to grow, and Hope and Hempstead County will have a wonderful partnership.”

Douglas then presented to Cook a gift from the EDC, a blanket saying “Never underestimate the difference you made and the lives you touched.” He also wished her well on her upcoming “bucket list” trip from Vancouver to Toronto, Canada by rail.

Next was Mark R. Hayes, Executive Director of the Arkansas Muncipal League, who brought with him a proclamation from the League, but also said “Your service day in and day out is, quite frankly, a thing of legend. You never get ruffled. You will always have the right thought process. And I've come to rely on your advice, and intellect more than I think you will ever know. You are a quiet leader. You are a kind leader, and you're an intelligent one. This city will miss you immensely.”

He added that Cook has made an imprint in Hope. “I've been watching the screen and looking at the soccer fields and the police department and all the myriad of things that you've had hands on these last couple of decades, and I have been honored to have worked with you. I think you are one of the best things that's ever happened to local government in the state.”

After Hayes finished, Mayor Still agreed with the impressiveness of Cook’s work. He mentioned the quality of the Hempstead Hall facility, which was built during Cook's tenure, in contrast to that of the Hope Fair Park Coliseum. “So I was telling someone this afternoon I walked out to check everything and walked around this building. And I was just thinking about all the programs we had down at the Coliseum. And that was the nicest place in Hope.  We tried to put lipstick on that place every time we went down there.”

Next was Charlotte Bradley, friend of Cook and Co-general Manager at Hope Water and Light, who said “So I'm going to tell you all the things that I know about Catherine. She's been very instrumental in working with the Hempstead County Economic Development Corporation. She's worked with various presidents, different people, different personalities, but she's been right on target with helping motivate, and encouraging and enticing businesses to locate help.”

Bradley cited Cook’s dedication and her ways of winning the esteem of her employees: “When employees didn't have transportation to get to work, she allowed the use of her personal car to get them back and forth to work. When employees didn't have daycare, maybe they've had some problems at home, and they needed to have a place to live, and couldn’t drop their kids off at their normal spot, I will see the bus stop, and those kids will get off the bus and they will go to City Hall. That's the Catherine that I know. She's caring.”

“And another thing that I know is that she'll pick up a stray cat. So if you’re neighbors with Catherine and you have a cat, please watch out. If they’re missing, they’re probably at her house.”

She also observed that Catherine was always the first to come to work and the last to leave and deserved to finally take some time off, but in doing so should feel secure that Hope would be continue to thrive. She also asked the members of the Hope Water and Light Commission to come forward to help her announce an endowment that would be contributed by the Commission to UAHT in Catherine’s name .

Former Hope mayor and current director Steve Montgomery spoke next, remembering when, in his enthusiasm he would present Cook with an idea he thought could be pursued right away, but Cook would have to say no. “So by the third time she did this, she called me to the office and brings out a book. It's got all of your municipal statutes in it. What is this? She says ‘You need to read it some time.’ … She wouldn't do this to protect me. She wouldn't do this to protect herself. She was doing it to protect the citizens of Hope, which she loves and cherishes.”

Director Montgomery and Mayor Still invited the current board of directors to join them to present Cook with a plaque and also with tickets to St. Louis via Amtrak and hotel accommodations for a trip to Busch Stadium to see her beloved St. Louis Cardinals play this upcoming season.

“This group here, they're going to be so glad to not get those occasional phone calls. ‘Listen, I need to come visit with you for a minute.’  It never presaged anything good,” Cook said. “But they're all such dedicated public servants.”

Next, Mayor Still invited another former mayor up to speak. This was Dennis Ramsey, who recounted sitting next to Cook during her first city board meetings as occasionally citizens confronted her personally. “Catherine would be over there turning red. I said, ‘Catherine, if I nod my head, you can speak. If not, keep your mouth shut.’”  Cook responded from her seat, “If it was really bad, he’d reach his arm out.”

“But that was a few years away and rare and in between,” Ramsey said. “What’s she’s meant to the City of Hope is incredible, what she’s meant to me is incredible. The city of Hope has made immense strides in her 26 years as manager. Her advice, her dedication, her professionalism, the way she’s handled all her encounters with people.  What people don’t know is the many quiet things that she’s done.”  He presented Cook with a big, colorful glass bowl as “something you can look at and have many fond memories.” He said the bowl had been created by James Hayes, an Arkansas glass artist of great renown, especially for Cook.

Cook closed the evening by expressing her thanks to the city’s employees and its citizens and also looking back at her life during her term of service: “I’ve worked through two bouts of breast cancer through the death of my parents, and my husband. But every day, if you just asked, did you enjoy it? Yes, I've pretty much enjoyed every day. I'm the kind of person that gets up every morning and says, we're going to go with it. It's going to happen. And I'm also the kind of person that it doesn't matter what's happening, somebody's going to know what to do next. And it's usually me. even if things are scurrying around. We've had ice storms and snow storms and wind storms, and straight line winds and employee challenges and various other things. But not one day did I not love working for the city. And I've worked with the best people in the world. I've worked for the best people in the world. And I've worked for the best community in the world.”

This the attendees greeted with a standing ovation.