This. Is. Cornhole.

For one night, winter was forgotten and summer was a state of mind.

They weren’t messing around.

Nearly a half-hour before the tournament was set to start, a handful of die-hards showed up to hone their cornhole skills. The correct angle to position the elbow, the ideal trajectory of the toss, the follow-through —glory awaited the team that brought it all together in the crucible of competition.

That crucible was found within the walls of The Baseball Tavern, where, on February 26, nearly 100 young professionals sought solace from the relentless New England weather for an evening of networking, Deep Eddy cocktails, and epic cornhole.

Teams from across Boston battled it out and, at the end of the night, this first-time event raised a whopping $14,000 in support of United Way’s early childhood work.

When the trash-talking died down and the smoke cleared, two champs were crowned: Bo Mlnarik and Fred Pettijohn of Summit Partners. And even better:  a few days later, a small crew of attendees continued the spirit of engagement at a United Way Youth Venture event, providing mentoring and professional development to teams of young social entrepreneurs.

It’s all part of the ultimate vision: network with peers and deliver high impact in the community and have a great time doing both.

The Private Equity/Venture Capital Associate Council have been working tirelessly to go beyond traditional volunteer work to leverage their business and analytic skills in support of United Way programs.

And this is just the beginning! To learn more about the PE/VC Associate Council or to join us for an upcoming event or volunteer project, email Jessica Igoe at jigoe@unitedwaymassbay.org.

A huge thank you to our generous sponsors: AlphaSights (Premier Sponsor), Guidepoint and Stax, Inc. (Gold Sponsors) and Manhattan Prep (Bronze Sponsor).

Read more about the big-time impact the Associate Council is angling towards.