Getting to Know NTCA Member Relations Manager Jeff Yarbrough
Jeff Yarbrough serves NTCA member companies across the Southeast in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. He also serves as one of the facilitators and educators for the comprehensive retirement and financial wellness seminars offered through NTCA Benefits.
Where did you grow up, and how'd you get started in the industry?
I grew up in what was a small town back in the early 1960’s called Snellville, Georgia, where “Everybody is Somebody.” After graduating from South Gwinnett High School in 1980, I thought I could play small college baseball. This is also when I made the leap to a full-time career in Telecommunications. In January 1981, I went to work in the Cable TV industry with Wometco CATV as an installer tech and, over a short period of time, became a General Manager/Regional Manager with Wometco, Falcon Cable, and Charter Communications. I met my wife, Kim, while climbing poles in 1982. We got married in 1984 and began raising our nephew, Travis (son).
How did you end up working for NTCA?
In 1999, while still working in telecommunications, Kim and I moved from McDonough, GA, to Nashville, TN, for a family venture into the restaurant business. In 2004, I had an opportunity to own a telecommunications business with a couple of partners. We built a telecommunications contracting company, growing from three employees to 175 in the first two years, serving residential and small-business installations for the cable MSOs across the Southeast. We sold our company in 2011 to a larger national contracting company.
At age 50, I knew that I still had a lot to offer. I love to serve others, and it was at this time that someone whom I had met during our years working together at Charter (Janet Cloyde) mentioned NTCA to me. Well, one thing led to another, and in January 2012, I began what has been my most rewarding 14+ years so far of my 45 years in the telecommunications industry.
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of the office?
In my spare time, I am an avid walker (20K steps a day goal), fly fisherman, travel (National Park freak), and love golf. And if time allows, I enjoy playing in my yard (sometimes too much). Kim says that I put too much time and money into dirt!
Why do you like working for NTCA as an MRM?
What I love most about working as a Member Relations Manager at NTCA is the opportunity to meet with our members and their employees on-site at their office(s). Having the opportunity to serve our members, employees, and directors, and to educate them on NTCA’s awesome benefit programs and what is going on in the industry, is always a joy and so rewarding. With me getting even closer to retirement, I love talking about our NTCA retirement plans and getting employees thinking about and planning for their retirement, no matter how soon or far away it is.
Any quirky facts most people don’t know about you?
An interesting fact that most people don’t already know about me is that “I LOVE PIE!" My MRM colleagues know how much I like food, and my wife, Kim, and I have been known to travel for hours for a hot dog, ice cream, a lobster roll, or my favorite – pie!