The undertaker governor

Ardoin’s Funeral Home director Michael Pool was elected Governor of the Southwest Louisiana Funeral Directors Association (SWLFDA). He has moved up the ranks of the SWLFDA board, serving as different levels of lieutenant governor, and within five years, has achieved the rank of governor.
The LFDA was formed in 1918 by unlicensed undertakers who met to create a full-fledged profession from a group of tradespeople. The four districts are north, southwest, southeast, and south. Pool’s southwest district stretches from Avoyelles to the Gulf Coast, and the Mississippi River to Texas. As an association they have become a strong voice on both state and national legislative issues.
LFDA’s convention was supposed to be this week in Biloxi, MS, but due to COVID-19 the convention was cancelled. LFDA works with and donates to various charities and has a scholarship program for funeral directors going to mortuary school. As governor, Pool wants to continue with district activities. He said community service is “very important” to him. “It’s the only thing that keeps me going. I enjoy that type of stuff.”
Pool said one big endeavor they are taking on is Career Connections, reaching out to young people to get into the business. “We’re really short-handed in the funeral business.” The funeral directors also help newly-released convicts by donating their gently-used suits to help them look more professional. They also donate toiletries to the women’s and children’s shelters. Every year to honor 9-11, they provide food to first responders.
Pool has been a part of other charitable causes as he’s worked with the district donating to the HUB Urban Ministries, Lions Club, Foster Children Project, Faith House, Toys for Tots, Maddie’s Footprints, Acadiana Veterans Honor Guard. They also take part in events throughout the district: Blessing of the Graves on All Souls Day, service and burial of the poor, Veteran’s Day ceremony, Memorial Day events, Children’s Grief Awareness Day, and Wreaths Across America, to name a few.
The nation-wide pandemic has seen funeral homes at reduced capacity, not being able to provide families with the type of services desired. When asked if he has found it difficult dealing with COVID-19 restrictions on funeral visitations, Pool said, “It hasn’t been really difficult. The families that we have had were very understanding.”
A native of Carencro, Pool currently lives in Mamou with his wife, Kathleen, and four-year-old son, William. He and Kathleen got married in 2006, the year he got his funeral director’s license. He has been with Ardoin’s Funeral Home for three years. His term as governor is for one year.