Special to The Message
Joe Cook has been named Executive Director of the Evansville District of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. He succeeds Vicki Eichmiller, who was the first Executive Director and served in that capacity from 2016 until earlier this year.
A native of Evansville, Cook attended Reitz Memorial High School before graduating from
St. Joseph’s College in Indiana with a degree in communications. He went on to study for the priesthood for the Diocese of Evansville at Saint Meinrad Seminary, earning a master’s degree in Catholic theology, and later graduated from Western Governors University with a master’s degree in management and leadership.
Cook has worked as a college campus minister at the University of Evansville’s Newman Center, as alumni director for Saint Meinrad Seminary and as coordinator of continuing education for priests at Saint Meinrad. Most recently, he was employed at Jasper Engines and Transmissions as an internal process auditor.
During his time with the Diocese of Evansville and Saint Meinrad, Cook gave many presentations, workshops and retreats to Catholic bishops, priests, deacons, engaged couples, teenagers preparing for confirmation, parish staffs and other Catholic groups on topics ranging from international priest acculturation and accent acquisition; mentoring of new clergy; stages of transition in priestly ministry; and retirement preparation for clergy. Most recently, he was involved in the improvement of product quality through process verification and taught classes for production leadership on quality management systems, ISO 9001 compliance, safety requirements and database management.
Cook has served on several parish and Catholic school advisory committees, is a past president of the Evansville Serra Club, and helped coordinate and present marriage-preparation retreats for the Diocese of Evansville. He is a lector and cantor at his parish and serves on the Catholic Education Foundation at St. Bernard School in Rockport.
“My goal as Executive Director is to build upon the many successful initiatives begun by Vicki Eichmiller and to find ways to assist the St. Vincent de Paul conferences in the Evansville district to increase membership in the conferences and the impact of their outreach to those in need in their communities.”
Cook lives in Santa Claus with his wife and two children.
For more information on the Evansville District of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, visit www.svdpevansville.org.