Donald Girouard of Lafayette, La., is a Vietnam veteran andmember of the APA of Acadiana. He and his brother were both stationed in Vietnamat the same time. Donald spent 10 months there and, unfortunately, one of thosemonths was spent in the hospital battling malaria. Due to the fact that he andhis brother were deployed there at the same time, Donald was sent home twomonths early. He completed his Army basic training at Fort Polk in Louisiana. Afew years later, he was stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado. During his timein the Army, Donald often practiced pool any time he could and was alwaysstriving to improve. He’s currently a skill level 6 in 8-Ball and skill level 7in 9-Ball.
Donald has been an APA member for over 15 years, and it’sbecome a family tradition. He has four brothers, and all of which play in theAPA except one. He and his son also playon two teams together. His family became involved in the League because ofDonald’s encouragement. It gives them an opportunity to participate in one oftheir favorite past times, as the family grew up with a pool table at home.
“When APA came out it gave us a chance to express our skillswith a chance to go to Vegas and have fun,” Donald said. “What I love about APAis meeting friends, playing at different places and going to Vegas. I’ve beenlucky enough to make three trips to Vegas for the APA National Team Championships!”