Richard B. (Dick) Burleson is Vice President of one of the largest engineering firms in the United States.  

He is a native of Alabama and was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame.  Dick graduated from Georgia Tech with a Civil Engineering degree. 

Besides his engineering career, Dick also rose to the Army Reserves highest rank, that of Major General.  He graduated from the Army War College and was Commanding General of the largest Army Reserve Command in the World.  His command covered eight states, 40,000 troops and included over 5,000 soldiers placed on active duty during Desert Storm.  General Colin Powell personally decorated General Burleson’s units. 

One of his highest personal honors came, when General Burleson received the Spirit of America's – Audie Murphy Patriotism Award.  He was only the 23rd American to receive this award. 

In addition to his engineering and military careers, Dick Burleson has been a football official in the Southeastern Conference for 25 years and worked a full schedule of top SEC games every year as head referee. Dick has served as Chief Referee and President of the SEC. He officiated fifteen major bowl games and the SEC Championship game. 

His last game on the field was as the head referee for the National ChampionshipRose Bowlgame. He is now an SEC staff advisor on officiating and evaluates officials performance each Saturday from the press box and assists with instant replay.

Dick is a member of the National Speakers Association and is a highly requested speaker in the Southeast.

His just-released book “You Better Be Right” has reached the #1 Best Sellers list at Barnes & Noble Bookstores.

In Dick's personal life, he has been married to his high school sweetheart Mary for over 46 years. He has two children, Richard and Mary Jo, and is the proud grandparent to Richie, 4, and twin grandaughters. He currently resides in Hoover.