Jack Weakley, as theJohnson & Johnson national sales manager, addressed the crowd of the 1989 NATA convention in Baltimore. While J&J has always had close ties to the athletic training profession and NATA, it became one of the association’s founding strategic partners in the 1990s.
As J&J Day kicks off today in Swing Hall of the Baltimore Convention Center, we wanted to take the opportunity to look back at the decades-long partnership between Johnson & Johnson, NATA and the athletic training profession.
Jack Weakley of J&J said, to his knowledge, the company’s support of the athletic training profession can be traced as far back as 1924 when J&J published the book “The Athletic Uses of Adhesive Tape” by Olof Hichens Glimstead, athletic trainer at the University of Notre Dame.
“That was the first evidence that I see within Johnson & Johnson about athletic training,” he said. “Skip up a few more years and you have our Zonas and Coach brands, which are really the workhorses of our business within athletic training.”
The Zonas Brand is one of J&J’s oldest, Weakley said, adding that it was introduced in the late-1890s and trademarked in 1909.
“Then in 1950, about the time NATA started up, we brought the Coach Brand to the athletic training profession,” he said. “Since that time, those products had been the No. 1 brands within athletic training for many, many years – as long as I’ve been around, and that’s a pretty long time.
“Because of the support of the profession over many years has shown up, it’s natural that J&J give back to the community that supports them.”
In the mid-1980s, the then-NATA Board of Directors approached J&J about corporate sponsorship as a way to expand the association and the athletic training profession.
“I think it’s fair to say corporate sponsorship was a very good decision by the board of directors at the time, and it was definitely a good decision by Johnson & Johnson because I think it helped keep the Johnson & Johnson name in the forefront of the athletic training profession,” Weakley said. “It’s been a labor of love for J&J and me personally. Having seen the growth of NATA and the profession is certainly something I’m very proud of. I hope to continue to see it grow.”
“Johnson and Johnson has been a valued NATA partner for more than six decades,” said NATA Associate Executive Director Rachael Oats, CAE. “As one of the association’s founding strategic partners, J&J – through our dear friend Jack Weakley – has made significant contributions that enabled the growth and development of NATA and the athletic training profession in the early years. And that commitment continues today. From providing seed money for the creation of the NATA Research & Education Foundation 25 years ago to sponsorship of our Hall of Fame member’s ‘green jackets’ more than 10 years ago to the recent inclusion of the NATA logo on product packaging, J&J’s support has been unwavering. We couldn’t be more proud to have them as a trusted partner who helps us enhance our reach, meet our goals and provide the best health care for work, life and sport.”
J&J has also supported the association and athletic training profession in several other ways – from voicing the concerns and issues of athletic trainers at the college and professional levels to helping with district meetings and university conferences.
“We are thrilled that the number of athletic trainers at the high school level continues to increase, and we are always trying to focus attention and resources on that effort as well as the international efforts as the profession expands to Asia, Europe and beyond,” he said. “It’s about giving back to the profession.”
One significant way J&J gives back to the association and the profession is through J&J Day, held annually during the NATA Clinical Symposia & AT Expo since the 1990s, Weakley said.
“It was an effort to bring the meeting to another level,” he said. “We wanted to contribute to that effort by bringing in the best possible symposium topics that we could and get the best speakers and the most noted experts we could on whatever the topic was. We wanted to ensure that the membership and the association were putting out the very best product in regards to education and information.
“The second part, which is probably the most notable, is the keynote speaker. Over the years, we’ve had some really, really terrific ones.”
Weakley said his favorite J&J Keynote was the address delivered by Dr. Bobby Barton, ATC, and Mark Smaha, MS, AT Ret., two past presidents of NATA, about their experiences at Marshall University and the tragic plane crash that affected the university and brought the two ATs together.
“We’ve had some very famous people and some very motivating people, and I’m sure this year’s speaker [Scott Hamilton] will be equally up for the task,” Weakley said.
Having seen the association and athletic training profession grow over the years, Weakley said he is proud of the partnership that has formed and the collaboration that has taken place.
“It’s a wonderful two-way street – more than a two-way street, a two-way highway,” he said.
