Cook Family Foundation Statement on Conflict of Interest

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Recently, questions have been asked about the Cook Family Foundation’s role in decisions by the City of Owosso about trash hauling and recycling. Attacks have been made against the character of one of our employees, Rachel Osmer, who serves on the Owosso City Council. As co-Executive Director of the organization and a former member of the Owosso City Council, please let me set the record straight.

The Cook Family Foundation, a private philanthropic organization funded by my grandparents and parents, provides grants to strengthen the local economy, reduce environmental impacts, and improve quality of life for all residents through recycling and resource recovery (see our webpage for more details). Last year, we responded to a request from the City of Owosso to match $8,750 in public investments to conduct listening sessions to help the City to determine how best to meet state law requirements to implement curbside recycling. The Foundation was not asked to, nor did it take, nor will it take, a position on how the City should improve recycling opportunities for its residents.

Rachel Osmer, the Associate Director of the Cook Family Foundation, was elected to serve on the Owosso City Council in November of 2024. In that capacity, she voted on a change to City ordinances to allow the City to contract for waste hauling services for City residents. The independent Cook Family Foundation has no financial interest in waste hauling or recycling. 

The suggestion that Rachel Osmer has a conflict of interest on any vote she takes on the Owosso City Council that relates to the community benefit work of the Cook Family Foundation is both contrary to the interpretation of state law by the City’s Attorney and an insult to her character. State law (MCL Section 15.483) requires elected officials to declare a conflict of interest and abstain from voting on any decision in which they have a direct or indirect financial interest; Rachel Osmer has no such conflict.

Rachel Osmer, like her fellow City Council members, gives a significant amount of her time, intellectual effort, and personal energy to represent the citizens of Owosso and make decisions to benefit the public health, safety and welfare. The decisions they must make are often complex and involve competing interests.  Our democratic system of representative government benefits from a robust debate of issues, hearing from a variety of perspectives, and listening to all citizens. This is precisely what Rachel Osmer does in her capacity as a City Council member. To suggest otherwise is an attempt to silence her independent voice, demean her service, and undermine all those who work to make our community better.   

– Thomas Cook

Shiawassee Area Students Explore the University of Michigan Ann Arbor on annual Scholarship Nominee Trip

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Forty-seven of the most academically accomplished high school seniors from all ten high schools in the Shiawassee County area recently made a trip to Ann Arbor. (See below for the full listing of all nominees.) Photo Credit: Michael D-L Jordan/David Lorne Photographic

It’s the beginning of the 2026-2027 school year in the Shiawassee region and that means it’s also time for the best and brightest high schoolers from the area to learn about becoming a Wolverine!

Forty-eight of the Shiawassee County region’s most academically accomplished high school seniors have been nominated for scholarships to the University of Michigan by the Cook Family Foundation. Students were nominated based on their academic achievements: grade point average, class rank, and SAT scores. One of these nominees will be selected to receive a four-year, full-tuition scholarship from the Bruce and Jacqueline Cook Scholarship endowment administered by the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

In order to assist them with their college selection, 47 of the nominees recently attended an overnight trip to the University of Michigan. There they had the opportunity to meet with admission officers, take a tour of the campus and football stadium, sit in on an actual U-M class, and spend time with current students from the Shiawassee County area enrolled at the University of Michigan.

“By visiting Ann Arbor each year, high schoolers get a genuine look at university life and can learn from current U-M undergrads who once walked in their shoes,” noted Tom Cook, Co-Executive Director of the Foundation. “The greater Shiawassee region is full of exceptional young talent. Our mission is to inspire them to envision themselves thriving at Michigan.”

Each of the nominees that is admitted and then chooses to attend will receive at least a $5,000 scholarship to the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. In addition to the Bruce and Jacqueline Cook scholarship process, the Cook Family Foundation provides at least a $3,000 scholarship to any student from the greater Shiawassee region with a 3.5 GPA or higher who attends any of the three campuses of the University of Michigan (Flint, Dearborn, or Ann Arbor). 

One of the following students will be selected to receive the four-year, full-tuition scholarship as mentioned above: from Byron: Jonah Spencer; from Chesaning: Jordyn Butcher, Autumn Cicinelli, Law Danek, Hailia Jewell, Oliver Keck, Alaina Knoellinger, Parker Kohagen, Gavin Moore, and Luke Skaryd; from Corunna: Kayla Hook, Ezra Nellis, Evan Warner, Kaminee Auge, Karionna Graham, Thomas Brooks, Elliott Carr, Joshua Siddock, Austin Sweet, and Micah Yates; from Durand: Elise Drauch, Jacob O’Bryant, and Nathaniel Schaefer; from Laingsburg: Nathaniel Davis, Samantha Gutzman, Collin Logghe, Ethan Platte, Grant Sprague, and Payge Woodworth; from Morrice: Maxwell Horvatin and Kane McLean; from New Lothrop: Chloe Czymbor, Logan Frost, Makenna Gemalsky, and Sophia Henige; from Ovid-Elsie: Belle Cooper, Micah Ladiski, and Reid Roberts; from Owosso: Alistair Andres, Rylie Burcher, Julia Ciarlino, and Adeline Mahoney; and from Perry: Collin Nolkemper, Calhoun Place, Lucas Rodgers, Leah Schneider, Riley Smith, and Emma Thielen.

This is the 21st year of the Bruce and Jacqueline Cook scholarship, which is funded entirely by its namesakes’ endowment.  Past recipients of the Bruce and Jackie Cook Scholarship have included:  Madison Dennis from Durand – 2026, Emily Rathka from Laingsburg – 2025, Quinn Skarich from Owosso – 2024, Emily Smith from Chesaning – 2023, Dillan Morell from New Lothrop – 2022, Elizabeth Tolrud from Owosso – 2021, Mason Collard from Owosso and Kyah Ribble from Perry – 2020, Autumn Zwiernik from Laingsburg – 2019, Tyson Moore from Corunna – 2018, Elizabeth Hoornstra from Chesaning – 2017, Mitchell Lawrence from Byron – 2016, Nick Miller from Laingsburg – 2015, Nolan Wendling from New Lothrop – 2014, Emily Feuka from Perry – 2013, Sam Whaley from Perry – 2012, Adam Stewart from Laingsburg – 2011, Valerie Micol from Byron – 2010, Adam Dingens from Corunna – 2009, Randy Piper from Owosso – 2008, Dan Frechtling from Perry – 2007 and Kendra Frye from Owosso – 2006.

For assistance applying to U-M, or for more information on scholarships available for U-M Flint, U-M Dearborn, or U-M Ann Arbor, email Rachel at the Cook Family Foundation at rachel@cookfamilyfoundation.org.

The Cook Fellows Program: 11 Students; 8 Agencies; 14 Years of Service

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In the photo left to right: Back: Truman Danek, Charlie Agnew, Liam McGraw, and Luke Henige. Front: Mirabella Carolan, Peyton Lamb, Sydnie Gillet, Raegan Taylor, Owen Feldpausch, and Lily Bruff

This summer, the Cook Family Foundation was proud to continue the Cook Fellows program across Shiawassee County, welcoming 11 University of Michigan students home to make a difference in the communities they know and love. The Foundation partners with local nonprofit and government organizations to provide meaningful internship opportunities for University of Michigan students from Shiawassee County. This year is the 14th year of the Cook Fellows program, and we were grateful to continue our relationships with several long-standing partners while also welcoming new organizations into the Cook Fellows program.

At its heart, the Cook Fellows program is about connection. It connects talented young people with organizations doing important work in their communities, while giving students the opportunity to gain real-world experience and give back to the place they call home. The result is a true win-win-win: local organizations gain talented and enthusiastic support, students build valuable professional skills and relationships, and Shiawassee County benefits from the energy and ideas of its next generation of leaders.

This summer the Foundation funded eleven Fellows across the county at eight different nonprofit or governmental agencies. Each student interviewed and was hired at their placement through the partners’ process; this allows for the partners and the students to find a mutually beneficial fit for placement. We had Fellows at the Durand Area Chamber of Commerce, DeVries Nature Conservancy, Friends of the Shiawassee River, Memorial Healthcare, and more. Every placement offered something different. Students had the opportunity to learn about their chosen fields, take on meaningful responsibilities, and see firsthand how local organizations serve the community. At the same time, host organizations benefited from the fresh perspectives, skills, and enthusiasm that these students brought to their work.

SEDP’s Jody Roethele, Sally Warren, and Brent Jones with fellow, Charlie Agnew

The experience extended beyond the workplace. Throughout the summer, fellows also had opportunities to connect with the Foundation and one another. These gatherings gave students a chance to build friendships, expand their professional networks, share what they were learning, and discover new possibilities through the experiences of their peers. Those connections and lessons will stay with them long after the summer ends. Fellows return to the University of Michigan with new experiences to add to their resumes, stronger professional skills, new relationships, and a deeper appreciation for the importance of serving their communities.

At the end of the experience, all participants were surveyed to share insights about their time working in Shiawassee County. The Foundation wanted to learn more about the fellows’ experiences, whether it reinforced their current career goals or shifted their path. Every fellow reported that they would recommend being a Cook Fellow to their peers, and that their time spent in Shiawassee this summer had a positive impact on their community.

Interestingly, half of the fellows reported that their summer experience affirmed their future career goals, while the other half reported that it caused them to shift their career path. This is exactly why these experiences are important – it helps young people to learn if they are truly interested in a path or not before they are too far down the path. One fellow said, “As a pre-med student, getting involved with clinical research has inspired me to become involved as a physician and follow in the footsteps of many of the doctors who I’ve seen participate.”

Greater Durand Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Candyce Wolsfeld, and Fellow, Raegan Taylor

An additional big win for the Foundation is that these students end the summer with more professionalism under their belts. Growth as a professional is more than just using Google and Spreadsheets. A positive example of this is a fellow stating, “The biggest lesson I learned was there is more than one way to come to a resolution.”

The Foundation looks forward to continuing to bring University of Michigan students back to Shiawassee each summer for partnership, growth, and community engagement. If you are interested in learning more about the Cook Fellows program or how to have a student at your agency, please contact Rachel at the Foundation at Rachel@cookfamilyfoundation.org. Visit our Fellows tab on our website to get more details!