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Gregg Cooke, of counsel at Guida, Slavich & Flores, and the former Regional Administrator of EPA Region VI, unexpectedly passed away on Sunday, September 17th, 2006. First appointed by President Clinton, Gregg had the distinction of being the most senior EPA employee to continue serving under President Bush. Gregg was a member of the ENRLS Executive Committee from 2000-2003. ENRLS Chair Drew Miller said, "Gregg was a truly unique and charismatic person. He is responsible for bringing me to Texas from Washington, D.C. in 1993, and, in that way, for the entire course that my life and career have taken since then."
Gregg's annual good-natured participation in skits/presentations at the Texas Environmental Superconference, as Regional Administrator, with former TCEQ chairmen Barry McBee and Bob Huston, was the high point of every conference. Gregg consistently received rave reviews for both the substance of his presentations and his sense of humor. At the conference just last month, Gregg organized and moderated an entertaining and nostalgic session that included former TCEQ Commissioners Baker, Huston, and Marquez, looking back and looking forward on environmental developments in the state, which the conference attendees loved. Jeff Civins, chair of the Environmental Superconference and a former partner of Gregg's, noted: "Gregg was a nationally renowned figure in the environmental arena, helping to strengthen the ties between the state and federal governments and to find pragmatic answers to difficult questions. He was a vibrant personality who loved the practice of environmental law and the people with whom he worked, on all sides of the table, and he was a great friend to all who knew him. He will be sorely missed."
ENRLS Executive Committee member Jean Flores, a colleague of Gregg's at Guida, Flores & Slavich, said, "Gregg came into the office every day with a smile and an excitement about what would happen that day. He had a great sense of humor and enjoyed office pranks more than anyone. He got a real kick when, to celebrate his first birthday as a member of the firm, we all wore mock Gregg Cooke mustaches in homage to his iconic look. Gregg was an extraordinary person." |
