Great partnership. Perfect evening. And a nail-biter of a game.

A relatively new partnership between Comcast Business and Onward Eugene, an economic development non-profit, scored big with the Eugene business community. The two organizations jointly hosted a “World-Class Industries Tailgate” prior to the Ducks v. Cal game Friday night for more than 100 local business leaders.

The weather was flawless, thus continuing to prove the dictum “It never rains at Autzen Stadium,” the food and bev were plentiful thanks to local distillery Thinking Tree Spirits, Claim 52, Ninkasi, and an artisan s’mores cart had one guest scheming about how to become a franchisee!

As he mingled with guests, Matt Sayre, managing director of Onward Eugene, said the event was exactly what he’d hoped for. “We want to support the growth of the businesses that already call the Eugene-Springfield area home, while also working to recruit new high wage employers to the region. A gathering like this demonstrates the community’s ability to work together, to grow economic prosperity.”

Alan Goldsmith, VP of Comcast Business Oregon/SW Washington, says supporting local businesses, large and small, is the company’s mission. “We know that the business climate has been extremely challenging over the past 18 months, and Comcast Business is committed to investing in our local business communities, ensuring we provide them with the products and services they need to thrive.”

Comcast Business supplied see-through fanny packs, hand-sanitizer, and logo’ed masks for the guests, and provided a custom-made cornhole set which was raffled off. The winner, Anne Erwin, was tickled, but with no children at home, she promptly donated the set to the Ronald McDonald House where it is certain to be appreciated.

Eugene area businesses large and small, from Arcimoto, the electric vehicle company which recently went public on the NASDAQ, to start-ups who just “graduated” from Onward Eugene’s EUG Launchpad Accelerator, rubbed shoulders with representatives of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, the Oregon Bioscience Association, Lane County, the University of Oregon, officials from the City of Eugene and Springfield – all welcoming exciting new companies who were visiting from out of the area.

Kristina Payne, Executive Director of Lane Workforce Partnership, says the events like the tailgate “give us the ability to talk offline, creating relationships that enable us to work better together.”

Oh. And the Ducks won in literally the final seconds of the game on the one-yard line. The evening couldn’t have ended better if we had scripted it ourselves.