Jane Cook, A Person Who Supported So Many People Now Needs Our Support…We Love You Jane
Thursday, August 7th, 2008Note from Jennifer Davis, Jane’s daughter:
“…we lost my mom on Saturday August 9th. We were all in the room, telling stories of love and teaching. We will miss her more than words can express… Thank you for all of the wonderful postings, flowers and prayers.
Jennifer on behalf of Rob, Katy and Robbie”
The rest of Jennifer’s message and Jane’s obituary can be found with Jane’s comments below.
For the past 5+ years I have been on the Market Research Association (MRA) National board. During that time, I have had the opportunity to work with and be led by some great presidents.
Each year the association gets a new president, one with their own style, grace and goals. I can still remember the first board meeting with a very special president in 2005 and my desire to send a follow-up email right after it ended:
Jane,
I am sitting here at 30,000 feet and thinking about the MRA and can’t help but send you an email. I am truly impressed with your leadership qualities, communication skills and ability to work with any type of person.
Thank you for being the next President of the Association and leading us during another exciting time! I know everyone on the board is looking forward to working with you and exceeding all of our goals in the years to come.
Enjoy the weekend.
Merrill
This president that I am referring to is Jane Cook. She is much more than just a past president of the MRA. She is a daughter, wife, mother, business executive and friend. Jane is that one person you COULD always count on to be there for you. Jane listened to you when you were down and gave needed advice that usually was right on. She is one special lady who always had time for everyone. She is beautiful on the inside and out and has a smile that would always force you to say yes no matter what she asked. She is always even-keeled and has so many other special qualities it would take me hours to list each and every one of them.
Way back in the early 80’s my dad developed cancer. During that time he insisted on not only having the treatment before work so it didn’t get in his way, he also insisted that no one know. To me, that speaks to the heart of my dad, who he is and the passion and work ethic he has and still possesses. I never knew until two days ago that Jane did the exact same thing during her year as President of the MRA. Was she hurting? Yes. Was she tired? Yes. Did she ever complain? No. Did she ever tell anyone? No. Did she ever show it? No. That’s not Jane. She always knew what needed to be done and NEVER allowed anything to get in her way–not even her treatment for cancer.
In the past decade, Jane has battled cancer a number of times. Each time she has won. Unfortunately our beloved leader, mother, wife and friend has another round of this battle as she goes up against this disease once again. This time the doctors have told her it is terminal with not a lot of time left.
To her husband Rob, daughters Jennifer and Katy, and son Rob, please know that you aren’t the only people who love Jane. That love is shared by hundreds if not thousands who are in the research and business community and have been fortunate to know her.
At the present time Jane is not in a position to take calls. However, all comments that are posted here will be read to Jane as well as cards that are sent to her.
You may send cards to:
Jane Cook
222 Crescent St SE.
Cedar Rapids, IA 52403
Jane, our thoughts, prayers and love are with you and your family as you fight this battle again with the same positive attitude, energy and grace that you have each and every day.


I get a lot of emails some of which are very interesting and thought-provoking. One of the ones I received last week falls into this category. As we all know, the airline industry has been in the news a lot lately for a number of reasons–none of which are good. From fare increases to airlines charging for everything. Below is an email I received that talks about some of the issues in the airline industry and calls for a stop of oil speculation. The interesting thing for me wasn’t all about the message but rather who sent it. Or actually what group sent it. You will see that 12 airline CEOs all joined together and signed the letter.


Whenever anyone talks to me about Respondent Cooperation, I invariably tell them that we should place more emphasis on Respondent Satisfaction. I say this because I believe that if we continue to focus on the former and ignore the latter, we risk losing our audience (our respondents).
I get a lot of calls in my office to do surveys. All of the initial calls come in during the day and I always respond the same way: if you would like me to do a survey, please call me around 7:00am. I tend to get in early and would gladly make some time available to help out this great industry. About a year ago, this interviewer called me to do a survey and of course I gave her my standard answer. Her name was Abby and she was very pleasant. The study involved CEO’s and paid an incentive of $100.00. At the end of the survey, I asked Abbey how long it would take before they would send out the incentive. She responded less than two weeks and gave me a number and some type of code that would help me if there was an issue down the road.
Last week I was at a promotions conference In Las Vegas. Having never been to the conference I was looking forward to the speakers, networking and of course the gifts that you receive at a conference. This conference didn’t have an exhibit hall so most of the gifts or "chotchke" were in the conference bag that I received when I checked in.
Over the years I have attended lots of MRA board meetings. The first week of June was no different for me. I went to the annual conference and attended the MRA board meeting prior to the conference.
It appears to me that there is a shortage of good researchers in our industry. The MMR and MSMR Programs in the United States graduate less than 100 people every year with each graduate getting multiple offers.
See a trend? Of the sixteen companies, six had an increase from 2006. Only two of those companies had double digit increase in their stock price. Of the ten companies whose stock price went down in 2007, eight of them lost over 10%. That to me was pretty amazing. Based on this graph there are lots of questions:
Okay, I will admit it. There are some things that I buy that I will bargain shop. No, I won’t drive all over town, but I tend to buy a lot of DVDs and will go to Target, Circuit City or Best Buy depending on price. Like I said I won’t drive 20 miles to do this, but all of those stores are within two miles of where I live so it isn’t a big deal. I am sure a number of people (if not most) go through the newspaper every Sunday looking for deals or items on sale that they either need or are too good to pass up. In essence they love a discount, yes love a discount. The reality is where does it stop? Does everything we do or buy need to have a discount? Yes I will buy some things based on sale items like paper towels, mulch for our yard and bottled water for sure. Clearly I view those items as a commodity. But where does it stop?
Since I am on the advisory boards for the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of Georgia, the University of Wisconsin, and Southern Illinois University and mentor lots of students, I get asked this question very often.