For nearly 40 years, Dick Yarbrough labored on the corporate side of the fence - first as a vice president for BellSouth Corporation and then as managing director - communications and government relations of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta.  For his efforts, PR WEEK, an industry publication, named him one of the 100 Most Influential Public Relations Practitioners of the 20th Century.  Now Yarbrough has a new career as a syndicated newspaper and magazine columnist and a much-sought-after speaker with no shortage of opinions on a variety of subjects.

His newspaper column reaches over one million households each week in Georgia and he appears bimonthly in Georgia Trend magazine.  Dick Yarbrough regularly skewers a number of favorite targets, including politicians in general, the Baptists in particular, the media, ice hockey, Ted Turner and anybody who drives an SUV.  He says he has just scratched the surface.

He is author of “And They Call Them Games - An Inside View Of The 1996 Olympics” (Mercer University Press), which is a first person account of the intrigues and Machiavellian maneuvers involved in staging the largest Olympic Games ever.  In his book, Yarbrough says there are three things you never want to see being made – law, sausage and the Olympics.   He is currently working on a book entitled, “Was It Worth It?” a look at the Centennial Olympic Games a decade later.”

A 1959 graduate of the University of Georgia, Dick spent several years in radio before joining Southern Bell in 1964.  Over the next 20 years, he moved up through the ranks, including a stint in Washington as director - public affairs for AT&T.  In 1982, when the Bell holding company – later to be known as BellSouth - was formed at the divestiture of AT&T, Yarbrough was an active participant in the creation of the company’s external strategies and received the prestigious Silver Anvil, given by the Public Relations Society of America, for BellSouth's financial communications program.

Yarbrough retired as vice president in April 1993 to join the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games as managing director - communications and government relations.  In that position, he reported to Billy Payne, the organization's president and chief executive officer and was responsible for public relations, state and federal government relations, public information and press operations.  During the planning period for the Games, Yarbrough dealt with a number of critical issues such as open records, gay rights, the state flag, construction accidents, and a host of special interest groups seeking to use the Olympic Games for their own benefit.  During the Games, he distinguished himself with his handling of the Centennial Park bombing and its aftermath.

During his career Yarbrough has received many honors. Georgia Trend magazine twice identified him as one of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential People in the State of Georgia. In 1990, the Georgia Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America elected him to the Order of the Phoenix, their highest award, and to membership in their Hall of Fame.  In 1994, Yarbrough received the George Goodwin Award from the chapter for lifetime achievement.  INSIDE PR, an industry publication, awarded him the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for his service to the profession, only the fourth person so honored.

Yarbrough is still active at his alma mater.  He is past president of the National Alumni Association and received their highest honor, the Distinguished Alumni Award, in 1995.  In April 2003, Dick was named recipient of the Distinguished Service Award by the Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communications at the University of Georgia. Given in recognition of long-time dedication and commitment to the college, Yarbrough is the second recipient of a Distinguished Service Award, according to Grady College Dean John Soloski.

The University of Georgia chapter of Blue Key national honor society presented him with the Blue Key Award in September 1996 for major contributions to the state.  He is a member of the Gridiron Society, the Greek Horsemen and a recipient of the Sphinx, the university's highest non-academic award. He is an emeritus trustee of the University of Georgia Foundation.

In February 1997, Governor Zell Miller appointed Yarbrough to the State Ethics Commission, which oversees the disclosure of significant private interests of public officials in Georgia. He just finished his term as commissioner and was the only non-attorney on the five-person Ethics board, which means he was the only commissioner who didn’t quote Latin during the meetings. 

Yarbrough is a member of the Cherokee Town and Country Club and the Sea Island Club.  He and his wife, Jane, have two children and four grandsons.