June 01, 2015

Tedrick, Rashid, Cook named to SIU Foundation Board posts

CARBONDALE, Ill. Three successful executives with longstanding relationships with Southern Illinois University have been elected to key volunteer leadership positions with the SIU Foundation Board of Directors.

Roger Tedrick, owner, president and CEO of Tedrick Insurance Agency in Mount Vernon, is the newly elected president of the SIU Foundation.  Susan Rashid, owner of SWR LLC, a business consultancy, is president-elect of the Foundation.  Also, Greg Cook, president and co-founder of Cook Portable Warehouse in Anna, is immediate past president of the organization.  Cook presided over the Foundation as president during the last two years.

All three will begin serving in their roles on July 1.

The volunteer board governs the activities of the Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization that provides alumni and friends a means to invest in the future of the university. Established in 1942, the Foundation solicits and administers gifts from private sources in support of SIU Carbondale’s academic mission. Private funding is generated through annual giving, major giving, corporate and foundation relations and campaigns.

Tedrick has served two stints on the SIU Foundation Board, with his second tenure commencing in 2011.  He was an SIU Board of Trustees member from 2004 to 2011, presiding over the board as chairman for six years.  His university service also includes a stint on the SIU Alumni Association Board of Directors.  Tedrick chaired the Saluki Futures Campaign, which generated funds to enhance athletic facilities.  He and his wife, Sally, a 1973 SIU graduate, are longtime SIU supporters and life members of the SIU Alumni Association.

Tedrick Insurance Agency provides commercial insurance and employee benefits programs to clients in the transportation, mining, construction and medical industries in southern Illinois and surrounding states.

Rashid earned All-American honors on SIU’s women’s swimming team as a student-athlete and was a member of Beta Alpha Psi, an accounting student organization.  She was inducted into the Saluki Hall of Fame in 2001 and the College of Business Hall of Fame in 2008.  Her university service includes membership on the School of Accountancy Board of Advisors and the External Advisory Board in the College of Business.

A life member of the SIU Alumni Association, Rashid’s consultancy business serves a variety of clients, from start-ups to holding companies, on strategic and operational issues.  Before starting SWR LLC, she held positions with Arthur Andersen and Leo Burnett & Co., served as director of administration for the executive search arm of A.T. Kearney, and was the chief operating officer for Element 79 Partners.  She has worked in Chicago, Tokyo and London.  Rashid also earned an MBA from the University of Chicago in 1998.

Cook has served on the SIU Foundation board since 2006. Born and raised in Carbondale, Cook is president and co-founder of Cook Portable Warehouse, also known as Cook Sales, Inc.  Cook Sales, Inc. manufactures and distributes Cook Portable Warehouses, which include storage barns, garages and cabins, and has dealers in 11 states. Cook previously owned and operated an excavating business before founding Cook Sales, Inc. with his father, the late John Cook, in 1984.

Cook and his wife, Nancy, a 1980 elementary education graduate of SIU, are avid Saluki fans and life members of the SIU Alumni Association.  They are season ticket holders for Saluki football, men’s and women’s basketball, and softball. The couple donated $1 million to Saluki Way in memory of Greg’s father, John Cook, in 2008. In addition, Greg also served on a six-member, volunteer steering committee to generate private support of Saluki Way, an $83-million project. Primary components of Saluki Way included building Saluki Stadium; renovation of the SIU Arena; and construction of the Boydston Center, an athletics support facility housing locker rooms, meeting rooms and office space for Saluki men’s and women’s basketball, as well as football.

Roger Tedrick

Roger Tedrick

Susan Rashid

Susan Rashid

Greg Cook

Greg Cook