“First team” members Jerry Williams and Rick Grenfell celebrate 40th year with Cook

Jerry Williams and Rick Grenfell recently celebrated their 40th anniversaries with Cook. Both Jerry and Rick have been invaluable assets to the company, and are a living part of Cook’s history.

Hired in 1977, Jerry and Rick were part of what Bill Cook called the “first team” of sales representatives to work directly with physicians.

For more than eight years before joining Cook, Rick served as a medic for the U.S. Army Special Forces. He then managed the cardiac cath lab at North Florida Regional Hospital, and shortly after, started his career with Cook in Texas. Rick worked as one of the original sales reps, covering five states. He was regarded as the “go-to” on the team because of his clinical background.

Jerry came to Cook after his neighbor, Frank Longson, who was also part of the “first team,” encouraged him to apply for an opening as a regional manager for the west coast, covering four states. Jerry was in his second year of the MBA program at the University of Utah. Jerry flew to Bloomington for an interview, and was back in Bloomington for training within a few weeks.

At that time, the seven sales reps covered large territories. Bill Cook told the team that he would get them a company plane if they would learn to fly. Bill himself was an avid pilot and personally flew products to customers from time to time. Within 60 days of Bill’s announcement, both Jerry and Rick paid for the training to get their pilot’s licenses and instrument training, and flew their territories for many years.

During their careers, Jerry and Rick have fostered relationships with some of the most influential interventionalists of the 20th century, including Drs. Charles Dotter and Cesare Gianturco. They were able to work with physicians to bring product ideas forward at a time when interventional medicine was just beginning to bloom.

Currently, Jerry serves as senior vice president of corporate development, working with the sales teams. Rick serves as a cardiovascular price project manager, analyzing and monitoring contracts.

40 years is not a small milestone. Please join me in congratulating Jerry and Rick by sharing your own stories and memories in the comments section.