Since its inception in 1995, the NFF Greater Atlanta Chapter has supported outstanding scholar-athletes and student managers in a big way. Each year, the chapter recognizes the best and brightest seniors from high schools across the state of Georgia at its annual Scholar-Athlete/Student Manager Awards Ceremony in conjunction with the Chick-fil-A Bowl luncheon held prior to the Chick-fil-A Bowl game in Atlanta. All the players and coaches from the bowl game teams attend the presentation, attracting a crowd of nearly 900 attendees to this special event promoting the scholar-athlete ideal in the region. In 2010, the winners and their families were addressed by Gary Stokan, President and CEO of the Chick-fil-A Bowl and Matt Stinchcomb, former University of Georgia and NFL standout. Matt also was the winner of the National Football Foundation Draddy (Campbell) Trophy in 1998, given to the top college scholar-athlete in the country.
The scholar-athlete scholarships were named in memory of George Morris, College Hall of Famer and founder of the Greater Atlanta Chapter of the NFF, who passed away in December of 2007. The scholar-student manager scholarships are named in memory of Whitey Zimmerman, who was the team equipment manager for the Atlanta Falcons from 1966-1994. When he passed away, he was considered the "Dean" of NFL equipment managers.
In addition, the Greater Atlanta Chapter also provides key support for the National Football Foundation's Play It Smart program in the Atlanta area, joining the Chick-fil-A Bowl, which has committed $180,000 annually to staff each of the nine Atlanta public high schools with an academic coach providing an educational program targeted at mentoring at-risk student-athletes.
