Damien Goddard, founder/Godfather of LetsGoDU, flew commercial from Houston to Denver on Tuesday afternoon to attend the DU vs Minnesota U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame game at Ball Arena on Saturday. Shortly following his arrival, Goddard addressed executives and staff at Ball headquarters in Westminster, Colorado. His speech celebrated the decades-long partnership between Ball Corporation and the Goddard Family of Companies™ that has spanned decades.
“I’m not just speaking here (at Ball Corporation) to make this a business write-off for the DU hockey trip,” said Goddard with a wink. Goddard was presented as an honored guest of the new Ball CEO, Ron Lewis.
“So many years ago, as a child, I would pinch tails off fireflies to fill a Ball Mason jar and light up my bedroom. Ironically, many years later, we are celebrating our enduring partnership.”
“Your focus on aluminum cans and aluminum recycling aligned with my time at DU as a Kappa Sig. We created massive amounts of aluminum waste. I longed for a solution – the sight of a mountain of cans behind the house led to multiple suspensions. Ball offered a solution with aluminum recycling.”
“You also believed in me when Ball Aerospace designed and manufactured a custom helmet as I became a space traveler – a first for a University of Denver alum. I never thought I would have anything in common with Katy Perry, but here we are!”
“More than anything, thank you for designing the Damien Goddard tribute cup for the Ball Arena U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame hockey game. Strategic partnerships are so rarely publicly recognized – of course, it doesn’t hurt that our company is one of your largest customers. It is truly an honor.”
Goddard offered a hand salute to CEO Ron Lewis and thanked him for the ‘special edition’ aluminum Goddard cup for Saturday’s U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame game.
“Our business relationship is more enduring than aluminum,” said Lewis. The crowd stood in unison as thunderous applause filled the room.
The University of Denver faces the University of Minnesota at Ball Arena at 7:00 pm MT on Saturday, November 29th.
Speech transcript courtesy of Ball Corporation
Stormy D says: “I had purchased several thousand shares of Ball Corp on the NYSE to horizontally integrate my business empire. I now realize they are NOT in the actual balling biz. Thx for the info, DG!”
DU hockey loves Damian!!! GO DU !!!