David C. Dickson , a native of Youngstown, Ohio, is serving as the District Director for the Philadelphia District Office of the Small Business Administration. As District Director, Dickson is responsible for the delivery and management of the Agency’s financial and business development programs throughout the eastern 40 counties of Pennsylvania.
For 4½ years prior to his permanent appointment in January 2006, Dickson was the Plant Manager for Stanley LaBounty, in Two Harbors, Minnesota; a major part of The Stanley Works’ Hydraulic Division. In that position he was responsible for the management and all operations for the manufacture and distribution of hydraulic excavator attachments (shears, universal processors, concrete pulverizers, and grapples) for the scrap, demolition, and general contractor markets.
Prior to Stanley, Dickson spent 3½ years as the Plant Manager for Cirrus Design Corporation in Grand Forks, North Dakota, The Grand Forks plant manufactured high-tech composite airplane parts (wings, horizontal stabilizers, fuselages, bulkheads, etc) for the SR20, the first airplane in history to have a certified aircraft parachute recovery system. Earlier in his career, he was the Assistant General Manager for a Teleflex Inc plant in California, a Program Manager for an electro-optics defense manufacturer in Florida, and an Associate Pastor in a Baptist church in Wichita, Kansas.
In 1975, he graduated as an Industrial Engineer from Youngstown State University in Ohio, after which he served honorably for over 11 years as an officer in the United States Army. While in the Army, Dickson earned his Masters of Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology and attended the Defense Systems Management College in Ft. Belvoir, Virginia.
Dickson has worked as a volunteer in several Chambers of Commerce and a Star City Commission, being especially active in workforce and economic development initiatives. He has held positions on four charitable Board of Directors; to include the Minnesota Chapter of the March of Dimes.
He has been married for over 35 years to his high school sweetheart, the former Barbara Rickert of Youngstown, Ohio. They have 3 daughters and 10 grandchildren in Wichita, KS (Tyson); Minneapolis, MN (Cameron, Caleb, Ava); Wichita Falls, TX (Savannah, Alivia, Emilie, Evelyn); and Joshua, TX (Trinity, Hailee).
