Alternative Design Manufacturing and Supply, Inc., is happy to announce Mark Cooper, Ph.D., has accepted the position of Director of Poultry.
The company was started over 35 years ago because there was a need for better quality poultry equipment, and it has always been committed to being one of the best. Alternative Design is looking forward to Cooper's expertise in helping the company secure its goal to be the go-to vendor in the industry.
Cooper has worked more than 20 years as a poultry geneticist, after receiving his master's degree 30 years ago from the University of Georgia, studying under Dr. Kenneth Washburn.
He then came to the University of Arkansas to get his Ph.D. under Dr. Nick Anthony, Ph.D. He has worked with pigs, chickens, cows, horses and rabbits since he was a teenager doing FFA projects. He graduated high school in Rockdale, Texas, then achieved his BS from Texas A&M University.
When asked what made him choose to come to work for Alternative Design, Cooper gave two reasons: the quality of the equipment and the ownership. Mark had been working with Alternative Design equipment ever since starting with Cobb in 2000.
He noted that the equipment was extremely durable, especially considering all the washing and disinfection processes the equipment had to endure over the years. At around the same time, Cooper was coaching softball teams for Cobb and met Grant Loyd, President of Alternative Design, who was the coach for his company's team.
"Grant was always such a nice individual, even when we were facing off against each other on the softball field," he said. "You knew by the way he carried himself and the way that he played that he was there to compete, but above that, to have fun and for the team to have fun."
It's been almost 26 years that Cooper has lived in northwest Arkansas with 23 of those years being in Siloam Springs. He loves the small-town feel and all the friendly people.
When Mark isn't working, he and his family enjoy playing tennis, hiking, fishing, watching movies and experimenting with different foods as he loves to cook.
He met his wife, Bernadette (Cookie) Cooper, at the University of Arkansas while she was studying coccidiosis (a major parasite in poultry) under Dr. Chapman. She is a veterinarian.
Their son, Tristan, is entering his junior year at the University of Arkansas as a poultry science student. He is working at the Cobb hatchery as an intern this summer.