ON Wednesday morning, January 24, 2018, the United States and Canada Bethel families enjoyed hearing a special announcement: Brother Kenneth Cook, Jr., had been added to the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Brother Cook was born and raised in south-central Pennsylvania, U.S.A. He learned the truth from a classmate just prior to graduating from high school and was baptized on June 7, 1980. He began full-time service as a regular pioneer on September 1, 1982. After pioneering for two years, he was invited to Bethel, beginning his Bethel service at Wallkill, New York, on October 12, 1984.

For the next 25 years, Brother Cook served in various assignments in both the Printery and the Bethel Office. He married his wife, Jamie, in 1996, and she joined him in Bethel service at Wallkill. In December 2009, Brother and Sister Cook were transferred to the Watchtower Educational Center at Patterson, New York, where Brother Cook was assigned to work with the Writing Correspondence Department. In April 2016, after a brief return to the Wallkill facility, Brother and Sister Cook were transferred to Brooklyn, New York. Five months later, they relocated to world headquarters in Warwick, New York. In January 2017, Brother Cook was appointed to serve as a helper to the Writing Committee of the Governing Body.