Big O Tires Helps Family Continue Its Mission

Big O Tires LLC donated a set of tires to an Oklahoma family that travels the country to raise awareness of their young son's rare genetic disorder.

Mike Cook wrote to Big O Tires asking for help. He and his wife Maggie have four sons, ages 26, 23, 16 and 8, and their youngest, Matthew, was diagnosed at age 2 with Angelman Syndrome, a disorder that affects Matthew's intellectual development, balance, walking, sleep and speech.

The Cooks , from Mustang, Okla., have made it their mission to educate the public about the disease, and they travel across the United States with their trailer hitched to their truck informing the public about the disease and children with special needs and disabilities.

“The one thing we learned from last year’s trip is that pulling a camper for such a long trip can be very demanding on the vehicle so that is why we are reaching out,” Mike Cook wrote  to the Big O Tires team.

Big O Tires donated the tires and installation on the family's 2019 F150 4x4 truck, another donation. The Big O Tires store in the family's hometown installed the tires for the family. The store is owned and operated by MFA Petroleum Co., a Big O Tires franchisee with locations in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.

“We are extremely excited about the opportunity to work alongside the Cook family and wish them the best of luck during their road trip this summer,” said Charlie Alexander, Big O Tires director of operations for MFA Petroleum Co.

“At Big O Tires, we pride ourselves in being the team you trust and making a difference in the local communities we serve in partnership with our Big O franchisees,” said John Kairys, vice president and general manager of Big O Tires. “Helping our community is more important now than ever. We jumped at the chance to assist the Cook family in raising awareness for Angelman Syndrome and look forward to maintaining our relationship and celebrating their successes along the way.”

There are 464 company and franchisee-owned Big O Tires stores in the U.S. It is a subsidiary of TBC Corp.