Hall of Fame 2008
William Dorey
Class of 1962
Bill Dorey was born in Fort
Lewis, Washington, on
November 26, 1944. His family moved
to Monterey,
where Bill attended grammar school through the 5th grade. His family moved again in 1955 to Watsonville and Bill
attended the 6th grade at H.A. Hyde School and Junior High School at E.A.
Hall.
In 1958, Bill entered
Watsonville High School (WHS) as a freshman. He loved his high school
experience. He ran on the track
team for four years and played basketball and ran cross-country. In his senior year, Bill was elected
Student Body President. Upon
graduation from WHS in 1962, Bill attended Cabrillo Junior
College, where he began studying for his Civil
Engineering Degree. While at
Cabrillo, he continued to run on the track team and played basketball, as
well. Bill has said many times that
WHS was a great place to go to school - the teachers were wonderful and the
overall experience was wholesome.
Cabrillo was an extension of Bill's high school experience and was
instrumental in preparing him for his transfer to Arizona State University
(ASU), where he earned a degree in Construction Engineering.
After graduating from
ASU, Bill began working on a highway project for Granite Construction Company in
Grass Valley, CA.
After five months, he had saved enough money to travel through Europe for three months - the trip of a lifetime for
Bill and his traveling companions.
Upon his return from Europe, Bill began his full-time employment with
Granite Construction Company in Monterey on January 1, 1968. At the time, Granite was a relatively
small, Central California construction company
with annual revenues of approximately $60 million.
Bill's career has taken
him from Monterey to Sacramento to Santa Barbara
and back to Watsonville over the last 40 years. He has served in many capacities,
ranging from a laborer in the field, Project Engineer, Project Manager, Santa
Barbara Branch Manager, Branch Division Manager and Chief Operating
Officer. Bill is currently
President and CEO of Granite Construction Incorporated (GCI).
GCI is currently
operating in 25 states, working on projects from as small as a driveway to those
in excess of $1 billion. Notable
projects underway at the moment include a $260 million bridge over the
St. Louis Bay in Mississippi to
replace a bridge destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, the re-build of the underground
stations of the World Trade Center
in New York,
and thousands of smaller projects throughout the West. Mr. Dorey attributes the phenomenal
growth of the company to the incredible talent and commitment of Granite's
people and the company's culture of always "boldly contending that which is
right and firmly rejecting that which is wrong". Granite is currently a public company
traded on the NY Stock Exchange with revenues in 2007 of $3 billion.
Mr. Dorey and his wife,
Joni, have been married for 37 years and have raised 4 children. He currently resides in Carmel and enjoys fishing,
skiing and spending time with his family, including his new granddaughter and
his "wonder dog", a yellow Lab named Kodi.
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