OP-ED: A servant leader in a self-centered world
Recently, the Somerset Chamber of Commerce recognized a friend of mine. For more than 50 years, G. Henry Cook, retired chair of Somerset Trust Company, has quietly shaped the soul of Somerset County. He’s done it not with ego, but through integrity, humility, and a committed belief that communities thrive when people put others ahead of themselves.
I first met Henry in 1980. He was a young banker when I was trying to make sense of financial statements and balance sheets. We would meet at the local Pizza Hut where he’d patiently walk me through the finer points of cash flow, common sense, leadership and life. Our conversations were about reality and humanity. I remember him once saying, “If you want chaos in your organization, just buy cheaper toilet paper or make parking inconvenient.” He recognized that the small, human touches hold an organization and a community together.
Henry led Somerset Trust through decades of change by embracing the future and by building trust. His philosophy was simple and powerful: “Do the right thing.” He grew an institution that reflected the best of small-town values — reliability, respect, and service.
But it’s what Henry continues to do in retirement that also defines him. Instead of retreating into comfort after a lifetime of success, he continues to choose generosity. In 2020, he conceived of and then financially seeded an extraordinary celebration marking both the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and our nation’s 250th birthday. It will be a community-wide event honoring service, sacrifice, and unity.
He recruited 50-plus local leaders to support our first responders who will be honored in grand style with military bands and flyovers, an incredible parade through town, concerts, children’s activities, chalk art tribute portraits, fireworks, and drones painting the sky. It was Henry’s vision, and his gift of gratitude to those who serve and protect, and a reminder that community is built on shared memories and purpose.
His example stands in stark contrast to much of what we see today. We live in a time when too many leaders are driven by ego, self-interest, and short-term gains where “me first” replaced “we together.”
Servant leaders like Henry remind us there’s another way. They give before they get, listen before they speak, and see leadership not just as power, but as responsibility.
Great thinkers across time understood this truth. Gandhi urged us to “lose yourself in the service of others.” Emerson wrote that the purpose of life is “to be useful, honorable, and compassionate.” Henry’s life is a living representation of those words.
Givers build. They create systems of compassion and opportunity, mentoring young professionals, and showing up when someone needs a hand. Their reward isn’t in headlines or balance sheets but in healthier, happier communities that endure long after they are gone.
Takers, on the other hand, often leave destruction in their wake. We see it in political corruption, corporate scandals, and the dissolution of trust that is rampant in institutions everywhere today. They win the moment but lose the future.
Henry Cook’s life proves that leadership rooted in service doesn’t just survive in today’s world, it inspires. His actions remind us that real power lies in kindness, generosity, and courage. That giving is the truest form of leadership.
Somerset didn’t just honor Henry Cook, the man. They honored a philosophy. They honored the idea that greatness is measured not by what we take, but by what we give back. Henry is a giver.
And, let his legacy be our reminder that it’s not the wealth we accumulate, but the lives we positively touch that define a leader. After his recognition, Henry wrote this to me, “In Ancient Rome when a general was awarded a Triumph, he would ride on a chariot in a parade with a companion at his side whose job was to constantly repeat ‘you are not a god.'” Amen.
Nick Jacobs is a resident of Windber.