Life Members, 10-Year Certificate recipients honoured

The Swan Districts Football Club is delighted to have recently inducted three outstanding servants as Life Members and awarded a 10-Year Certificate to another.

For those who bleed black-and-white, there are few higher honours than being made a Life Member of the Swan Districts Football Club, which is exactly the honour now bestowed up Peter Hodyl, Des Hardiman and Graeme Higgins.

Higgins earns his Life Membership at Swan Districts on the back of his loyal support as a member, but outstanding work as well with The Swansmen.

He first became a member of the Swan Districts Football Club back in 1979 and his support and contributions have been remarkable ever since.

On top of his membership of Swan Districts, Higgins joined The Swansmen coterie group in 1988 and has given them remarkable service for more than 20 years now.

Higgins was firstly a committee member for The Swansmen and over the next 30 years his roles would include being the treasurer and vice president. In reward for his outstanding service, he was awarded Life Membership of The Swansmen in 2018.

Higgins' contribution to Swan Districts has also included being the returning officer for the club's board elections.

In a show of respect for his support as a member since 1979 and outstanding contributions since 1988, Higgins will now forever be a Life Member of the Swan Districts Football Club.

Hardiman is also now a Life Member of the Swan Districts Football Club and it's a love affair for him with the black-and-whites that extends right back to the 1960s.

Hardiman's love of Swans began as early into his childhood as he can remember. By the 1960s, he began keeping statistics, newspaper clippings and club paraphernalia – and the passion for that has never wavered over the following 60 years.

His official involvement at the Swan Districts Football Club then began in 1981 when he became the club's accountant. He would remain in that role for five years before turning his attention to membership of both The Swansmen and Past Players and Officials Association.

The remarkable contribution that Hardiman has made in all areas of the Swan Districts Football Club include his roles on the Junior Council, time as the club returning officer, being president and treasurer of The Swansmen and being on the Swansmen Auction Committee, being chair of the Heritage Committee, and being a board member.

For all of that and more, Hardiman is more than a deserved recipient of Swan Districts' Life Membership.

Then there is current president Peter Hodyl who has earned Life Membership at Swan Districts with his time in black-and-whites now stretching back almost 40 years.

Hodyl first played senior football with Swan Districts in the National Football Carnival against Richmond at Waverley Park in 1982 before making his official WAFL debut for the black-and-whites in Round 18, 1983.

He would play just the two games in that debut season and another five in 1984, but was a regular part of the team by 1985 before having three outstanding seasons in 1989, 1990 and 1991.

Of course, that included being premiership captain in 1990 in a memory that will be cherished by all Swan Districts faithful forever.

On top of his 80-game Swan Districts playing career, Hodyl has contributed to make a significant contribution firstly on the club's board and now as the president for the past eight years.

During his time as president, he has been instrumental in transforming Swan Districts into more than a WAFL football club, being a community focused and engaged business and being in a strong financial position.

On top of those three outstanding servants receiving Life Membership, Joanne Taylor has also recently received her 10-Year Certificate for her remarkable contributions involving so many different areas.

Not only has Joanne been a committed member of the Swan Districts Football Club for a long time, but her contributions have been hugely significant in the growth of female football at Swans since 2009.

Jo has been an assistant coach, football manager, reserves coach and league head coach within the Swan Districts women's football program over the past 13 years.

On top of that, between 2013-18 she represented the club as president of the Swan Districts Women's Football Club.

It's hard to imagine anyone who has done more to deserve their 10-Year Certificate with the Swan Districts Football Club.