Jim Cook Jr.

Jim Cook Jr. is an American writer, actor, and filmmaker, who served in the United States Army. In 2012, Cook ran a successful election campaign by only using social media. He graduated from Woodstown High School in 2006.

Biography

Cook was raised in Pilesgrove Township, New Jersey and graduated from Woodstown High School in 2006. He graduated from Rowan University in May 2010 and joined the South Jersey Times as a news reporter in November the same year.
In September 2012, Cook wrote and produced Roundabout: A New Amusement, a play about the history of the Levoy Theatre. The play was performed for the theater's grand opening gala. He has served on the theater's Board of Directors since January 2019.
On the night before the general 2012 election, Cook launched a last-minute bid with no funding and less than 24 hours to win a seat on the Woodstown-Pilesgrove Regional School District school board of education. Later that month, it was announced Cook had won a seat representing Pilesgrove Township, using only social media to rally votes.
Due to his position as an editor, Cook was urged by the South Jersey Times to decline the BOE appointment to avoid a conflict of interest, to which he agreed.
On October 3, 2013, Cook announced his departure from the South Jersey Times and his enlistment into the United States Army. He completed Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson in South Carolina in February 2014. He served his full enlistment at Osan Air Base in the Republic of Korea assigned to the 3rd Battlefield Coordination Detachment.

Stray electricity investigation

From 2010 to 2013 at the South Jersey Times, Cook worked closely with former 1981 NFL Baltimore Colt defensive lineman Anthony “Bubba” Green on a series investigating the city of Baltimore in the electrocution death of Green's daughter Deanna in Druid Hill Park in 2006. The series — along with various legal proceedings — assisted in the creation of the Deanna Camille Green Rule, which requires electric companies in Maryland to survey for contact voltage. The overall intention of the rule is to prevent accidental electrocutions.
The series — later titled Battling Stray Electricity: A family's journey — received a 2010 New Jersey Press Association award in Public Service.

Awards