The Marin Builders Association has selected Oliver Dibble as the recipient of the Peter Arrigoni Building Community Leadership Award. The award recognizes an individual for excellence in both industry leadership and community involvement. The association chooses awardees based on their dedication to the industry, commitment to education and their support of the Marin Builders Association’s goals and initiatives. The award was established in 2018 in honor of the late Peter Arrigoni who served as General Manager of the Marin Builders Association from 1977 to 2003.
Oliver has more than 50 years of expertise in the building trades, consisting of roles ranging from apprentice to project executive. Following his early days working in his family’s contracting business, he has been associated with many high-profile projects throughout the Bay Area and beyond. Oliver has been a licensed general contractor since 1980, a member of the Marin Builders Association since 1986 and is a former president of the association’s board of directors (2003).
Oliver’s storied career began with his father, a residential developer and spec builder in San Francisco and Marin in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s and later, in Sun Valley, Idaho. Oliver started working for his dad at the tender age of 12, first digging ditches in the summers, then as a carpenter at the age of 15, continuing on until after he finished college at U.C. Berkeley. Shortly after graduation, Oliver founded Dibble & Company and secured his contractor’s license.
Oliver joined the Builders Association in 1986 (known as the Marin Builders Exchange at that time). As a new member, one of the first events Oliver attended at the Marin Rod & Gun Club, where he met a gregarious Italian gentleman barbequing on a giant grill. The man had more than 100 chickens cooking at once, brushing sauce on them with a large broom made of bundled rosemary bushes. This was Oliver’s first introduction to Pete Arrigoni, then the manager of the Exchange. Oliver was enthralled and immediately volunteered his time serving on various committees, including finance and insurance. After a few years of committee service, he was asked to join the board of directors.
Oliver’s role further expanded to a trustee of the North Bay Builders Exchange’s insurance trust. Prior to 2000, the Marin Builders Association played a major role with the state compensation insurance trust and oversaw dividend negotiations. As the insurance business evolved and expanded into health coverage, Oliver helped develop and maintain quality service for all participants. His role has required patience, commitment, and dedication within a constantly shifting regulatory environment.
Over his tenure of nearly three decades of leadership at the Marin Builders Association, Oliver has been part of a construction industry that is evolving. Strong competition, smaller margins, a shrinking workforce, and a fluctuating regulatory market make the industry home for the nimble and astute business owner. He helps the association stay ahead of market forces to effectively advocate on behalf of its membership within the community. Those efforts have evolved into numerous initiatives including permit simplicity and workforce training programs.
Oliver believes optimism is key to achieving success in the construction business. In 2022, he continues his commitment to helping Marin Builders Association’s leadership strengthen its bond with the community at large as well as grow as a valuable resource to all members. Oliver adds, “The future of the county and the MBA is only limited by our own abilities to envision what benefits the community as a whole. As I move into the later part of my business career, I can’t wait to see what the younger generation does to improve our built environment. What’s next?”
The Marin Builders Association is honored to present the Peter Arrigoni Building Community Leadership Award to Oliver Dibble of Dibble & Company.
