(ATR) In an era of bidding for the Olympics that is now part of history, Bobby Rearden was member of a team that campaigned for the Games with charm and personality. Atlanta, never considered a favorite, edged Athens in the third round of voting by the IOC in 1991.
Along with bid leader Billy Payne, Rearden was one of the so-called Atlanta Nine who came up with the idea of bidding for the Olympics in the 1980s and then traveled the world to convince the IOC.
IOC rule changes since then prohibit such one-to-one campaigning as well as visits to the bid cities. In 1990 Rearden and colleagues hosted 50 IOC members in Atlanta following the IOC session in Puerto Rico, one year before the vote for the '96 Olympics.
Rearden died January 10 in Atlanta after a long battle with leukemia. He was commemorated at a service attended by hundreds today at First Presbyterian Church, just blocks away from where the bid headquarters were located.
He was born in Alabama and was a graduate of the University of North Carolina. After receiving a law degree from Emory University he remained in Atlanta to make his fortune as an insurance broker. He was known for his volunteer work for charitable causes and other community service. He is survived by his wife, son, daughter and seven grandchildren.
While Rearden spent two years courting IOC members in trips around the world he did not join the organizing committee after the city won the bid in 1991, as did Payne and others from the bid team.
Charlie Battle, who worked on the bid and then the organizing committee, delivered the eulogy for Rearden.Battle paid tribute to Rearden’s "energy, enthusiasm, his zest for life, his friendliness, his insatiable desire to connect with people."
Battle remembered Rearden as a legendary storyteller who liked to talk, quipping that he had some phone calls with Rearden "that covered two meals".
Battle said a good friend of Rearden’s called him "God's optimist," a quality Battle said well-served the Atlanta Olympic bid.
"He became a tireless traveler and goodwill ambassador, bringing everywhere his charm and warmth and love of people and building long and lasting relationships with members of the International Olympic Committee -- and in true Rearden fashion, convincing them that they could not say no."
In a 2006 newspaper story on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Atlanta Games, Rearden recalled the awe of bidding for the Olympics.
"When we were bidding, I went to Sapporo for the Asian Winter Games. I was sitting in a hotel dining room for breakfast, and an IOC member from Libya, Bashir Attarabulsi, was there. This was not too long before the U.S. bombed Libya. The only other people in the dining room were the IOC member from Taiwan, and the mainland China IOC delegate.
"At that time, those two nations had no diplomatic relations. I remember thinking, ‘How many other organizations in the world could prompt something like this, bring people together like this?’ After we finished, Attarabulsi and I went over to their table. I think it’s a great statement about the power of the Olympics."
Although he did not get involved in the organization of the Atlanta Olympics, Rearden helped launch the "I train in Lagrange" program that helped finance training for African athletes ahead of the 1996 Games in the small city 50 miles southwest of Atlanta.
Ty Votaw, the PGA vice president overseeing golf at the Olympics, came to the service for Rearden, noting that he was one of the founding members of the World Golf Federation which represents the sport at the Olympics. Rearden also was one of the founders of The First Tee, a program that encourages youth to take up golf and the values of the game; CEO Joe Louis Barrow also at the service.
Reported by Ed Hula
Thanks to Atlanta Journal Constitution for photos.
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