The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation announced a new partnership with A. O. Smith, a leader in the water heating and treatment industry, to present the 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. The award is presented annually to the top senior or fourth-year junior quarterback set to graduate with their class by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, which encapsulates all that is positive in college sports.
 
“We are proud and honored to have A. O. Smith presenting our award,” Johnny Unitas Educational Foundation President John Unitas Jr. said. “We look forward to welcoming their entire organization, including their customers to be part of a foundation that is so near to my heart. Over the years, we’ve been fortunate to work with several long-term partners, and A. O. Smith is really a perfect fit for what we’re trying to achieve collectively. The A. O. Smith partnership will enable us to take the Golden Arm Award to new heights, offer greater opportunities for our scholarship winners, and help ensure that the Johnny U legacy carries on.”
 
The partnership with the Golden Arm Award offers A. O. Smith the platform to promote the importance of their core values such as innovation, leadership, teamwork, integrity and character.
 
“A. O. Smith has a legacy of innovation and performance in the water heating and water treatment industries, much like Johnny Unitas did on the football field," A. O. Smith Director of Marketing Jeff Storie said. "Both of these iconic names have been around for decades and share many of each other’s values. For A. O. Smith, partnering with the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation and the Golden Arm Award makes perfect sense. We’re excited to tie our own efforts to further education in our trade with the Foundation’s efforts to help further the education of youths interested in football around the country.”
 
Sharing a tradition of innovation with Unitas, who invented football’s two-minute drill, A. O. Smith has been an innovator in its industry for more than a century. A. O. Smith designs, builds, distributes and field supports one of the world’s broadest lines of residential and commercial water heaters, water treatment products and commercial boilers. This single-source concept simplifies ordering, installation and service and is backed by decades of research and innovation.
 
As part of the partnership, the award will be re-branded the "Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award presented by A. O. Smith." Giving life to the commitment to always give something back, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation and A. O. Smith will continue to promote football on all levels by providing financial aid to deserving young scholar athletes.