Jackson Pool sits at his desk in City Hall. Pool is the borough's new finance director and began work Aug. 26. He will split time between Wrangell and Ketchikan, where his wife and 3-month-old son live.
Jackson Pool loves solving problems. As Wrangell's new finance director, he is excited to do just that.
He joined the borough last week after working as an accountant for the Ketchikan Gateway Borough for just over a year. His hire ends a run of nine months without a finance director for Wrangell. Borough Manager Mason Villarma has been doing both jobs since last November.
Pool's hire is a relief for Villarma; not only will the borough manager now be able to direct all his attention toward his management responsibilities, but he is excited to work with Pool.
Villarma described the new finance director as skilled, knowledgeable and quick-witted, all things required for someone responsible for managing the borough's money.
"These are taxpayer dollars," Pool said. "My job is to keep the funds safe."
His responsibilities are wide ranging. He will handle the borough's day-to-day accounting, help manage investments, oversee payroll and manage the finance department. The finance director also manages the borough's tax programs.
Though you may never guess it talking to Pool, he has only worked in the financial sector since 2023.
After graduating from Ketchikan High School, he wasn't certain what he wanted to do for a living. He initially enrolled in college in Montana before transferring to Northern Arizona University. Eventually, he realized his time would better be spent in a trade school. His grandfather founded Pool Engineering in 1972, and Jackson had experience in the field (although his grandfather lovingly "fired" him when he was just 10 years old for falling asleep on the job).
He attended trade school in Bellingham, Washington, to study heating, ventilation and refrigeration before moving to Montana to support his wife who was going through nursing school at the time. One day, when he was in a crawl space on his hands and knees, he said to himself, "I think I'm going to get my degree."
The process was difficult, but he prevailed. Pool was waking up at 5 a.m., doing school work, going to his professional job, and then doing more school work when he came home. This was in 2022. By 2023, he received not just an accounting degree but an offer to return home to Ketchikan and work for the borough.
He is now 25, he and his wife just welcomed their 3-month-old son, Peterson, into the world over the summer, and the job of finance director in Wrangell was a logical next step in his career.
"I wanted to be a part of what Wrangell is building here," he said. "It is too good to pass up. I also wanted Mason (Villarma) as my mentor."
Though Pool's background is not the traditional one for the financial sector, he believes his unique path into the industry gives him an advantage. Working in the trades, he was always trying to find a way to save money on operating supplies.
"I spent so much time looking at invoices and trying to make things more efficient, how to save money. That's my number one goal here too."
Pool hasn't completely left his trade roots behind him. Currently, he is remodeling a house in Ketchikan. His new position allows him to remain in Ketchikan most of the year. The current plan is for him to spend three weeks in Ketchikan and one week in Wrangell every month.
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