The Chambers for the Swannies in Hanoi.
Matt Townsend reports on last weekend’s 2013 Annual General Meeting for Hanoi.
The Hanoi chapter of the mighty Vietnam Swans locked in their executive team for the year behind re-elected Northern El Presidente, C. Dan Hopkins. The man formerly know as Crazy was elected unopposed to the Northern Presidency after a campaign rivalling the one recently concluded in Kenya. For the purposes of clarification: Crazy is not currently and has never been under indictment by the International Criminal Court. Although there’s still a fair bit of the year to go.
Another position filled by a returning member is that of Coach. Dave “SOS” Skowronski retains the reins after taking over at the end of last calendar year, and has thrown himself into the role with the high-energy antics we all expect from him. After some clearly disingenuous self-effacement over the matter of following club champion and (probable) underwear model Ado Enright as Northern Coach, SOS has gracefully assumed command of Hanoi’s physical well-being and mental toughness.
The remaining three committee positions, however, will each be filled in 2013 by first-time committee members – a fantastic sign of the club’s growth and depth in the North.
The position of Hanoi Treasurer has been won by Zach “Jack H.” Iaali. Mere moments away from completion of a CPA, and entrusted by the Australian Government to account for the expenditure of Commonwealth funds in the challenging Vietnamese environment, Zach is the perfect candidate for Senior Northern Comptroller and Beancounter. Also, Zach was only one of the few Swans eligible to be treasurer, given the he passed the hurdle requirement of being able to count into double figures without removing his shoes.
Unbreakable Alex Leonard assumes the position of Hanoi Secretary unopposed. Afraid that he would be stereotyped merely as an indomitable physical presence after walking out of a burning plane crash unscathed and smashing the beep test into tiny pieces, Alex was keen to show that he could contribute sensibly off the field, too. Alex remains the only Swannie with a PhD (which is to say a REAL PhD, unlike the one Dave O’Shea keeps in his wallet from Eastern Kerala School of Natural Therapies and Taxi Driving) and will bring some intellectual rigour to the occasionally free-flowing committee meetings.
The final committee position – that of Social Director – has gone to Matt Carr. A popular choice among the Hanoi contingent, Matt Carr (who, under club bylaws, can only ever be addressed by using both his given and surname at the same time) is tasked with expanding the public profile of the club in Hanoi. In addition, Matt Carr will also try to create sufficiently structured social networking and fundraising opportunities to ensure that the club meets its mandate of being an awesome thing to be part of. Matt Carr was the obvious choice in Hanoi, given the perfect balance he maintains between Getting Loose and Keeping It Clean, and anyone who took his father-in-law aside to discuss exactly how many pigs he would need to hand over as bride price for his daughter is clearly someone who knows how to get a good deal.
