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Companies and organizations of the masonry industry joined together to support the 51st annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference and the National Masonry Contest on June 25, 2015. After being held in Kansas City, Missouri for decades, the SkillsUSA Conference has returned to the Bluegrass state where it will be held for the next several years.
The 43 young masons from 32 states were allotted a maximum of six hours to construct a project composed of brick and block, set on a concrete block base. Each contestant received a detailed drawing to which they were expected to adhere to closely.
The 2015 winner of the secondary/high school division of the competition was Luke Dutton from West Rowan High School in Mount Ulla, North Carolina. The winner of the post-secondary/college division was Alex Ossowski from Central Cabarrus High School in Concord, North Carolina. Congrats to North Carolina.
The masonry programs or schools of each first-place winner received a $1,500 scholarship from Spec Mix. All six medal winners (three in each division) were awarded tools from Bon Tool and the Marshalltown Company, I-Pads, construction calculators, Lowes & Carhartt vouchers, as well as various other items donated by loyal supporters and sponsors of this event.
Masonry competitors were part of the well over 6,100 students who competed in over 100 different trade, technical, and leadership fields. The contestants demonstrated their level of training and skill in everything from prepared speech, to cooking and nail care, to carpentry, welding, and masonry.
To qualify for the Nationals, the students had been winners of their own state run contests. Ten percent of the scoring in the masonry contest was a written test covering a variety of subjects such as tools, construction math, safety procedures, etc. The remainder of the scoring covered skills involved in the actual laying of the project such as plumb, level, square, full joints, and tooling & neatness. Many of the students’ projects tested at a very high level.
Thanks to sustaining members of the National SkillsUSA Masonry Technical Committee for their monetary support, and obvious concern for mason training. The members are: Bryan Light, Manager Brick Industry Association SE – Bill Kjorlien, Manager Argos USA – Ray Leonhard, President/CEO & CFO Brick Industry Association – Kim Haley, Marketing Marshalltown Company – Jeff Buczkiewicz, President/CEO Mason Contractors Association of America – Bob Melton, Executive Director Masonry Institute of Tennessee – Rolly Cox, Manager Multiquip Corporation – Jason Thompson, VP Engineering National Concrete Masonry Association – Dan Belcher, Director National Center for Construction Education & Research – Peter Kiley, Executive Vice President Oldcastle Architectural – Brian Carney, Vice President & Nick Blohowiak Manager Spec Mix, Inc.
In addition, the actual workings of the masonry contest from floor layout to clean-up would not be successful without the five members of the SkillsUSA Education Team; Don Clark, Al Herndon, Todd Larson, Richard McKnight, and Rich Nagy. Thanks to River City Masonry and Mason Structure as well for their help in this regard. Judges were supplied by Jeff Garnett through BAC locals in nearby Ohio & Indiana, supplemented by local masons and several skilled masonry instructors from around the country from as far away as Texas and Wisconsin.
Brick donations in excess of 18,000 units were donated by General Shale, L. Thorne Company, Brampton Brick, and Brickcraft. Mortar donations and ‘Mudslingers’ were again supplied by Spec Mix and the Quikcrete Company. Multiquip donated the use of the mortar mixing, and mortar delivery equipment.
Other highlights of the week included a field trip to a local block plant, A. C. Krebs Company, that was attended by close to 100 students, instructors, and parents. The owner of the facility, Mr. Cecil Deboe, is a third generation mason himself, and has been a very active supporter of mason training in Louisville for many decades. He happily donated the block for the contest as well. The tour was followed by a luncheon for the students/instructors that was hosted by Dan Belcher and NCCER. Dan gave a spirited presentation to the audience concerning the future of the construction industry.
The SkillsUSA Championship is the largest single day of corporate volunteerism in America valued at more than $36 million in industry support of donated time, equipment, cash and material. All contests are run by and judged by industry standards for employment. More than 1,000 judges participated this year.
August 2014 SkillsUSA Celebrating 50 Years of SkillsUSA Shown are the winners of the 2014 National Masonry Contest at the 50th Anniversary SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference, who took stage at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo. On the platform they are (l to r) 3rd place winner Brandon S. Gain, The Williamson Free…
August 2013 Making the Grade National Contest Supports Masonry Skills Training, Development Shown left to right are second place-winners Steven Quimby and Travis Moore; first-place winners Brent Austin and Andrew Mullis; and third-place winners Mark Karhoff and Chase Smith. Among the adult sponsors of this event were (on left) Bill Kjorlein, Argos USA; (on right)…May 2009 Making the Grade Eyes on the Prize Codey Rogers at the National Masonry Contest, held in Kansas City, Mo., in conjunction with the National SkillsUSA Leadership Conference Codey Rogers says his masonry instructor has been his greatest influence. In June 2008, Rogers participated in the national masonry contest, held in conjunction with the…
November 2009 Making the Grade Father and Son Nathan Rader (right) looks on as his instructor and father, David Rader, evaluates his completed composite project in the national masonry contest held in conjunction with the 45th Annual SkillsUSA National Leadership Conference in Kansas City, Mo. For his skill and effort, Rader earned second place honors…The post SkillsUSA Takes Place in Louisville appeared first on Masonry Magazine.
Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee considered the FY16 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill and passed the bill out of Committee and to the full Senate for consideration. The MCAA is pleased to report that during consideration of the bill, Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) offered an amendment to delay the proposed silica exposure rule being pursued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
This amendment was passed by Committee and is now a part of the legislation that moves to the Senate for consideration. Specifically the Sen. Hoeven amendment would not allow OSHA to finalize the regulation until such time that:
1. OSHA’s epidemiological justification for its proposed reduction of the current OSHA exposure limits, including the prevalence or lack of disease and mortality associated with the current OSHA exposure limits,
2. the ability of laboratories to measure, with accuracy and precision that meet the “NIOSH Accuracy Criterion,” exposures generally below the current OSHA exposure limits and specifically at the proposed OSHA exposure limit and proposed action level,
3. the ability of various types of personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect employees,
4. the steady decline in silicosis related mortality rates based on data maintained by the Centers for Disease Control; and
5. the costs of the different types of PPE compared with the costs of engineering and work practice controls.
While we are celebrating this huge victory in the Senate, our work is far from over. Unfortunately, this language was not included in the underlying House version of the FY16 Labor-HHS-Education bill. We need you to call your Representative and ask him or her to contact Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK), urging him to include the Hoeven language in the final version of the corresponding House bill.
June 2014 Government Affairs Silica Public Hearings Concluded The Mason Contractors Association of America is putting up a sustained fight. By Stephen A. Borg The proposed new rule being pursued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to further reduce the permissible amount of workers’ exposure to crystalline silica is one of the biggest…
August 2013 Government Affairs Great Time to Get Involved Stephen A. Borg If you have paid attention to this space, our numerous grassroots alerts, and our annual Washington, D.C., fly-in communications, you have seen our call for you to get involved in the MCAA government relations program. If you have not already decided to get…
June 2013 Chairman's Message Eye Opening John Smith President Mason Contractors Association of America We have just returned from our Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. I was hoping that more contractors would have attended. It was one of the most exciting trips I have been on with the MCAA. The South 40 Group went on…
November 2011 Government Affairs Legislative Committee Update By Matthew B. Keelen In September, the Legislative Committee met during the MCAA Midyear Meeting in San Antonio. We had a great discussion related to the fights over the debt and deficit, the 112th Congressional action plans, and the 2012 elections. As we discussed, even with partisanship at…
March 2011 Government Affairs Legislative Committee Update Matthew B. Keelen and Michael J. Falencki In January, the Legislative Committee met during the MCAA Convention in Las Vegas. We discussed the wrap-up of the 111th Congress, the changed political dynamic and its impact, and what we can expect from the 112th Congress. Despite a highly politicized…The post Amendment Passed to Delay Silica Rule appeared first on Masonry Magazine.
