The Cooks named 2014 Family of the Year

MADISON – William G. and Dr. Emily Cook and Jack, Sarah and Davis are Madison’s 2014 Family of the Year.

William and Emily Cook have three children — Jack, Sarah and Davis. They are Madison’s 2014 Family of the Year. (CONTRIBUTED)

“We feel very honored to have been selected as Family of the Year and look forward to serving Madison in this role,” Emily said.

Originally from Tupelo, Miss., the Cooks moved to Madison in 1999. “We knew of the high quality of family life here, so we had long had an interest in moving,” Emily said. After Will finished graduate school, he chose to work for The Boeing Company in part for their Huntsville/Madison location.

“We enjoy Madison because it has excellent schools, a small town feel with high-tech opportunities and offers excellent amenities for family life,” Emily said.

Emily earned a bachelor’s degree at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss. and master’s and doctorate’s degrees from Vanderbilt University. Will completed a bachelor’s degree at the United States Naval Academy and two master’s degrees at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Emily works as an adjunct professor at the University of North Alabama. Will works in systems integration for Systems, Studies, and Simulation (S3). A Gulf War I veteran, Will flew with the drug interdiction effort in Central America.

Their son Jack, a freshman at James Clemens High School, participates with the SeaPerch robotics team and Engineering Club and enjoys technology-related activities. Seventh-grader Sarah plays volleyball and basketball at Liberty Middle School. Davis, a kindergartner at Columbia Elementary School, likes camping and computers.

Involved with Madison Hospital Women’s Council, Emily also has served as president of Madison City Council of PTAs and is a sustainer with Junior League of Huntsville. Will serves as admissions advisor for the naval academy with local students and as Alabama state coordinator.

Will has coached SeaPerch robotics and for the Basketball Association of Madison.

The Cooks are members of First Baptist Church in Huntsville. Excluding Davis, the family enters triathlons. Traveling “is a centerpiece of our family life,” Emily said about visits to Vietnam, Cambodia and Turkey. They camp, hike and geocache.