Coach Stanno and Hanoi Prez, Mark Williams hold the spoils of victory aloft

The Hanoi President of the Vietnam Swans, Mark “Willy” Williams sent out the email below after the inaugural ANZAC Friendship Match.

Dear Hanoi Travellers and Supporters

It’s been a wonderful month for the Hanoi based Swans. We had a fantastic and very popular Auskick session at the UNIS Spring Fair and, of course, our recent trip to Vung Tau was truly memorable for all of us.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you that travelled from Hanoi to support the ANZAC Weekend events and, of course, the support you showed to the victorious mighty Hanoi Hawks. A wonderful weekend, and again, we must thank Dan Kindness and Helen Kindness for all of the work they did to make this event happen. There has been great feedback and no doubt we will do the same next year.

I would like to thank John Brown who travelled with us from Hanoi. John served in Vietnam and provided a great deal of insight to many about life in and around Nui Dat, including a very detailed map showing the location of  the important infrastructure at the Australian base.

Thanks also to  Lindel Brown and Anne Maree, Emily, Sean and Conor Murphy for representing the Hanoi  Swans contingent at the Orphanage visit on Friday. The craft activities, the play doh, as well as some handball drills at the orphanage, was greatly appreciated by all.

A final thanks must go to Philip Murphy who assisted with numerous duties in the lead up to the Vung Tau weekend. In particular, he was instrumental in liaising with the Hawthorn Football club in ensuring that they were aware of the up-coming match between the Saigon Saints and the Hanoi Hawks and, in doing so, the Hawks donated an official Hawthorn Match Day Sherrin football.

The weekend has provided us with a platform to build on the fantastic support that we have in Hanoi. The Swans are committed  to work with everyone to make sure our club can continue to provide a social environment for families as well as activities and tours. We must build on what has happened this past month. We have a great core group of players and supporters.

We now need to leverage off the fantastic efforts of many this past month and make sure that the Hanoi Swans can become an even stronger force in our community.

Once again thanks to all for your support and I would love to hear any feedback that you would like to share  with me that the Hanoi Committee can review to enable us to continue to have your support.

Best Regards

Mark Williams
Hanoi President – Vietnam Swans