He established the NorthShields hockey club, initially for a local school, and now spends hours of his own time mentoring the boys and developing the club, that has several teams.
The worldwide downturn has meant the firm's American owners have closed one site in North Tyneside and the South Shields plant is in the hands of receivers.
Yet the flexibility which ministers seek from the agencies means, says Mike Shields, chief executive of the North-West agency, that they should really have a block grant which can be allocated according to local priorities.
South Shields letting agent Ajay Jagota deals with about 700 landlords like David Cook in the North East, and he says many are worried about the lack of information coming from the government.