Linda Cook, Kansas Authors Club, Finance Officer
I joined the Kansas Authors Club in January 2023, after retiring from a 45-year career in communications, public relations and business planning. Starting in 2026, I am honored to be a member of the KAC Board of Directors and serve as the Finance Director.
Most of my career was with General Motors Corporation where I started working in Kansas City in 1977, fresh out of Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism and mass communications. (I was the Kansas farm girl moving into the corporate world). I also have an MBA degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earned in 1998 when I was selected to receive a GM Sloan Fellowship. The invaluable knowledge I gained in finance and accounting at MIT will undoubtedly serve me well as I assume the KAC Finance Director role. Maybe I was destined to serve in this role, even though I am more a word person than a numbers person.
After 25 years at GM, while moving around the country and traveling the world, my hunger for a new career experience took me back to Kansas City where I became vice president of communications for Midwest Research Institute, an independent laboratory that conducts biological and chemical research (some of it being top secret stuff) for the U.S. government and for agricultural and pharmaceutical companies. My next career move was to lead communications for Honeywell’s Federal Manufacturing and Technologies facility, also in Kansas City. My job involved even more top-secret work, this time for the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. Communications work in an information secured facility requires a delicate balance in providing enough information about a topic to inform and assure the public of their safety and security, without saying too much to jeopardize that security.
My last two professional roles brought me back to Kansas State University: first as the vice president of communications for the KSU Alumni Association and last as Chief of Staff for the K-State President and director of community relations for the university.
My writing experience has included newspapers and magazines articles, news releases, brochures, video scripts, web content and executive speeches. Now that I’m retired, my writing focus is on short stories (fiction and nonfiction) and working on that ever-elusive novel(s). More recently, I was honored to have three short stories published in the 105 Meadowlark Reader (topics included: Landmarks, Intersections, and Accomplice). I also received Honorable Mention in the 2025 KAC Literary contest for a humorous prose short story entitled “Rebound Date.” Yes, it was based on a real-life experience when I was in my late twenties.
Retirement has also afforded me time to get involved in community activities. I currently serve on the board of directors for five community organizations in Manhattan.
I look forward to serving on the KAC Board of Directors and meeting more KAC members.
I joined the Kansas Authors Club in January 2023, after retiring from a 45-year career in communications, public relations and business planning. Starting in 2026, I am honored to be a member of the KAC Board of Directors and serve as the Finance Director.
Most of my career was with General Motors Corporation where I started working in Kansas City in 1977, fresh out of Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism and mass communications. (I was the Kansas farm girl moving into the corporate world). I also have an MBA degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earned in 1998 when I was selected to receive a GM Sloan Fellowship. The invaluable knowledge I gained in finance and accounting at MIT will undoubtedly serve me well as I assume the KAC Finance Director role. Maybe I was destined to serve in this role, even though I am more a word person than a numbers person.
After 25 years at GM, while moving around the country and traveling the world, my hunger for a new career experience took me back to Kansas City where I became vice president of communications for Midwest Research Institute, an independent laboratory that conducts biological and chemical research (some of it being top secret stuff) for the U.S. government and for agricultural and pharmaceutical companies. My next career move was to lead communications for Honeywell’s Federal Manufacturing and Technologies facility, also in Kansas City. My job involved even more top-secret work, this time for the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. Communications work in an information secured facility requires a delicate balance in providing enough information about a topic to inform and assure the public of their safety and security, without saying too much to jeopardize that security.
My last two professional roles brought me back to Kansas State University: first as the vice president of communications for the KSU Alumni Association and last as Chief of Staff for the K-State President and director of community relations for the university.
My writing experience has included newspapers and magazines articles, news releases, brochures, video scripts, web content and executive speeches. Now that I’m retired, my writing focus is on short stories (fiction and nonfiction) and working on that ever-elusive novel(s). More recently, I was honored to have three short stories published in the 105 Meadowlark Reader (topics included: Landmarks, Intersections, and Accomplice). I also received Honorable Mention in the 2025 KAC Literary contest for a humorous prose short story entitled “Rebound Date.” Yes, it was based on a real-life experience when I was in my late twenties.
Retirement has also afforded me time to get involved in community activities. I currently serve on the board of directors for five community organizations in Manhattan.
I look forward to serving on the KAC Board of Directors and meeting more KAC members.
Thank you, Linda,
for sharing your time and talent
with the literary community of Kansas!
for sharing your time and talent
with the literary community of Kansas!
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