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Newsletter Archives

Military Business In July, NCMCA partnered with the North Carolina Military Business Center (NCMBC) to present two workshops for masonry industry firms interested in participating in some five to seven billion in military construction spending in North Carolina over the next five years. Above, NCMBC Executive Director Scott Dorney addresses the session held at Wake Technical Community College in Cary. General contractors, masonry contractors, military officials and suppliers attended.

Manning at CCMA NCMCA President Gary Manning addressed the Annual Summer Meeting of the Carolinas Concrete Masonry Association at Daufuski Island, SC in July. He updated the CCMA general session on NCMCA projects, including certification, and reminded the block producers of how important the promotion of gray units is to masonry contractors. Left to right, President Manning, CCMA President Paul LaVene, and Bill Holden, President of Block USA and current Chairman of the National Concrete Masonry Association. Mr. Holden provided the CCMA general session with an overview and update of NCMA activities.

Two Silver Medals North Carolina students claimed two second-place masonry finishes at the SkillsUSA Championships in Kansas City the end of June. Front row left to right: Tim Hartwig, Marshalltown Co. (technical committee); High School medalists—Silver-Justin Wiley, West Stanly High School (N.C.); Gold-Bradley Wright, Earnest Pruett Center of Alabama; Bronze-Darren Tobolt of Ohio, and, Harry Junk, National Concrete Masonry Association (technical committee). Second row left to right: Postsecondary/College medalists—Silver-Travis Greenly, Central Cabarrus High School (N.C.); Bryan Light, Brick SouthEast, a Brick Industry Association (technical committee chairman); missing from photo Gold-Alvaro Landaverde, Arizona Masonry Contractors Association; and Bronze-Keith McEneaney, of Pennsylvania, Bill Kjorlein, (technical committee); and, Al Herndon, Florida Masonry Apprentice and Educational Foundation (national education team). Photo by SkillsUSA.

Triad SJO Golf The Gain & Well Corporation Team took “First Place” at the Triad Chapter’s 31st Annual June Golf Tournament in Burlington. Left to right, team member Gary Walker, Tournament Chairman Dickey Robertson, Team Captain Wayne Coleman, and team members Brian Holiday and Russ Happney. Twenty-four teams participated.

Home Tour The NCMCA Land of the Sky Chapter toured a mountain-top jobsite for their June meeting. The all-masonry private home is being constructed by Mike Sneed and has used 21,000 CMU’s. All interior walls are CMU. (Photo by Katie DeJarnette)

CCMA Blockfest Students in the NC State College of Design Structures and Materials ARC class, taught by Wayne Place and Paul Battaglia, during the spring semester competed in the annual Carolinas Concrete Masonry Association Blockfest competition. Patrick Rand helped facilitate the event. The winners will be attending National Concrete Masonry Association mid-summer meeting in August in Huntington Beach, California. Shown, Adams Concrete’s Frank Werner (white shirt, middle) and CCMA’s Paul LaVene (middle, red shirt) examine a winning project with the student participants. Winning team: (block wall) Maria Papiez, Jeff Pleshek, and Courtney Evans. Winning team: (unit design) Will Pate, and Casey Farren. (Photo by NC State University.)

NC SkillsUSA The NC SkillsUSA Masonry Contest was held at Greensboro in April. Seventeen-year-old Justin Wiley of West Stanly High School won the high school division and will represent North Carolina at the nation contest this summer. Top, left to right, West Stanly High School instructor Tim Kidd; Wiley; Luis Aguilar, also of West Stanly, second place and who also finished in second place in 2007; Central Cabarrus High School instructor Todd Hartsell; Matthew Burnette of Central Cabarrus High School, third place; Mount Pleasant High School instructor Doug Drye. Bottom, left to right Ryan Love, Mount Pleasant High School, fourth place; and Ryan Sellers, Central Cabarrus High School, fifth place. West Stanly High School won “Best Overall” for most points collected in all the masonry events.

Class of 2008 Fifty apprentices from fourteen NCMCA member firms competed in the May Annual NCMCA Apprentice Masonry Skills Contest, hosted by Pine Hall Brick Company in Charlotte. NCMCA member firms donated more that $20,000 in cash, tools, materials and equipment for the contest. Each contestant received tools and a cash prize.

2008 Skills Contest The cast of the NCMCA Masonry Apprentice Skills Contest, top, left to right: Harold Beaty and Ron Griffin, Pine Hall Brick Company; NCMCA President Gary Manning; Fifth Place Finisher Ryan Love, Griffin Masonry; Fourth Place Finisher Patrick Wilson, Barbee Masonry; Contest Chairman Mike Rogers; First place Winner Eulalio Hernandez, Gates Construction Company; Second Place Finisher Marcus Hefner, McGee Brothers Company; Third Place Finisher Macy Williams, Brodie Contractors; and Wayne Starr, Contest Head Judge. Bottom, left to right: Sixth Place Finisher David E. Gantt, Jr., Beam Construction; Eighth Place Finisher Nathan Minton, Beam Construction; Seventh Place Finisher Pedro Ramirez, Freds Masonry; Ninth Place Finisher Joseph Wainwright, McGee Brothers Company; and Tenth Place Finisher Pablo Ramirez, Freds Masonry.

Danny Koonts Memorial Golf Tournament The Central Piedmont Chapter held their annual golf tournament at the Olde Home Place Golf Club on May 8th. The Rodney W. Young Masonry team of (LR), Craig "Tiger" Young (not pictured,) Jeff "Boo" Young, John "Booger Red" Hames, and Todd "Shooter" Young are congratulated by Chapter President Ashlee Moore for their first place in the first flight. First Place, Second Flight was the team of Steve Jones, John Shirley, Tim Moore, and John Ross. Koontz Masonry and R.C. Koonts and Sons Masonry provided an after-tournament barbecue. The tournament committee was Ricky Sutphin, David Zenns and Ken Duncan.

Eastern NC Contest Adams Products Company hosted the Eastern North Carolina High School Masonry Skills Contest Saturday May 10th. Shown completing his project, Justin Ellenberger of Swansboro High School was a repeat first place winner in the men’s division, followed by John Bright of White Oak High School and Christopher Murphy of Pender High School. Rebecca Jankowski, also of Swansboro High School, was the first place winner in the women’s division. Samantha Jones and Whitney Smith, both of White Oak High School, finished second and third. Pender High School won the school award for most total points earned. 2008 marked the 27th year Adams has hosted the contest.

Convention Speakers NCMCA President Gary Manning (left) welcomes special guests to the NCMCA 2008 convention. David Gillick (middle) is Executive Director of the Mason Contractors Association of St. Louis and Chairman of the Masonry Executives Council. John Chrysler, of the Masonry Institute of America, presented “Improving the Quality of Masonry Construction.” Chrysler’s program was made possible by Oldcastle Adams Products Company.

Officers Elected NCMCA installed officers for the 2008-2010 term at the Association's Annual Convention held the end of April. Left to right, Secretary/Treasurer Larry Kirby, Kirby Construction Services, Conover; Immediate Past President/Chairman of the Board Wayne Starr, Gates Construction Company, Mooresville; President Gary Manning, Manning Masonry, Williamston; and President-Elect Mike Rogers, Michael J. Rogers Masonry, Brevard. Not shown, Eastern Regional Vice President Jimmy Simmons, Simmons Masonry, Fayetteville; Central Regional Vice President Danny Bowman, Bowman Masonry, Inc., Winston-Salem; and Western Regional Vice President Don Caldwell, C & R Masonry, Candler. The convention was held at The Grove Park Inn in Asheville, and was sponsored by TriSure Corporation, Manning Masonry, Inc., Johnson Concrete Company, McMahan Insurance and Employee Benefits, Kirby Construction Services, Tucker Kirby Company, EZ Grout, Adams Products Company, Gates Construction Company, and CEMEX.

Company Certification At the Association Annual Meeting, Chairman of the Board Wayne Starr (second from left) congratulates three of the first nine members to accomplish NCMCA Company Certification. Left to right, Steve Sipe, Glenn W. Sipe & Sons, Inc.; Starr; Bob Gates, Gates Construction Company, Inc.; and Larry Kirby, Kirby Construction Services, Inc. The other six of the first nine, not shown: Ariel Masonry, Concept Masonry, Inc., Lanier & Associates Masonry Contractors, Inc., Masonry Unlimited of Cherryville, Inc., Moxley Masonry, Inc., and Randall Cox Masonry.

Convention Golf The "Burton & Sons" team won the EZ Grout Convention Golf Tournament at the Grove Park Inn in April. The winning team, left to right, Doug Burton, Alex Moehring, John Burton, and Past State President Doug Burton. Grout Hog supplied a Mud Hog MH-12 mixer as a hole-in-one prize, but it went unclaimed. Triangle Brick's Bill Brooks once again chaired the tournament committee.

Mountain Contest 2008 The Land of the Sky Chapter held their annual student masonry contest the end of March at the Haywood County Fair Grounds in Waynesville. Top, left to right, Chapter Vice President Steve Stout; Tuscola High School Instructor Mark Warlick; Third Place Finisher Justin Ledford, Tuscola High School; First Place Finisher Heath Barker, Tuscola High School; NCMCA Secretary-Treasurer Mike Rogers; West Henderson High School Instructor Dennis Griffin; Chapter President Gary Kitchen. Bottom, left to right, Second Place Finisher Roger Cable, Tuscola High School; Fourth Place Finisher Chris Massey, Tuscola High School, and Fifth Place Finisher Zeth Linn, West Henderson High School. CEMEX provided hamburgers and hotdogs grilled on-site. Chapter members provided materials, tools and cash prizes.

Program Introduced In February, two informational meetings were held to introduce the new NCMCA-owned Health Care Plan. Among those attending, left to right, Rich Ewen, Fiserv Health; Allison Mercurio, Stonehenge Masonry; Cindy Hughes, Medcost; Alicia Stewart, Medcost; Freddie McMahan, McMahan Insurance & Employee Benefits; Mariann Straw, Trustmark Affinity; Rae Ann Schmidt, Simmons Masonry; Gary Manning, Manning Masonry; Carla Smith, Trustmark Affinity; Mike Huffman, Murray White Associates; and Shelley Esposito, Concept Masonry. For information, call Freddie McMahan (336) 249-4442.

Certificates Presented At their February meeting, the Western Carolina Chapter had NCMCA State President Wayne Starr on hand to present recently earned Certification Certificates. Top, left to right - Charles Miller (CMP) and Chapter President Larry Kirby (CME,) Kirby Construction Services, (Richard Petty was not actually in attendance), Steve Sipe (CME,) Glenn W. Sipe & Sons, Martin Bowne (CME) and Jeremy T. Morris (CMP,) Masonry Unlimited of Cherryville, and Starr. Bottom, left to right - David Presnell (CMP,) Mark H. Crowe (CMP,) and Dennis Childress (CMP,) Kirby Construction Services, and Joshua W. Morris (CMP,) Masonry Unlimited of Cherryville.

Bricklayer 500 For the first time, a Carolina brick mason has competed in the January Spec Mix Bricklayer 500 at the World of Masonry in Las Vegas...AND CAROLINA WON! Garrett Hood (left) of McGee Brothers Company laid 791 brick in one hour to claim the grand prize, which included $5,000 cash, a $42,000 4x4 Ford Extended Cab pickup truck and a list of other prizes. Coaching and tending was McGee Brothers’ Kevin Hallman (right) The total of 791 matched the winning total from last year, laid in 2007 by this year’s second place finisher Mike Boll. Boll laid 780 bricks this year. Hood was National SkillsUSA High School Masonry Champion in 2001, and won the NC Department of Labor State Fair Masonry Apprentice Contest later that fall. He won the Annual NCMCA Apprentice Masonry Skills Contest in May 0f 2002.

Griffin Recognized Senior members of the NCMCA Western Carolina Chapter joined in recognition of G. Alan Griffin for serving from 1976 to 2007 as the Chapter’s Secretary-Treasurer. Left to right, C.E. Moser, Leland Eckard, Chapter President Larry Kirby, Griffin, Steve Sipe and Carl Moser. The plaque presentation was made at the chapter’s annual January Winter Party. Griffin is a past NCMCA State President (1981-83) and a Past President of the Mason Contractors Association of America.

Certification Graduates North Carolina Masonry Contractors Association is graduating its first class of “Certified Masonry Executives” and “Certified Masonry Professionals” from its Masonry Contractors’ Certification Program. Some 60 participants have met the requirements for their individual certification. The first series of eleven classes concluded in September 2007 and the 2007-2008 series began in October. Over 280 individuals and sixty companies are participating. NCMCA Certification Board of Governors Chairman Doug Burton (right) presents NCMCA President Wayne Starr (middle) with the first certificate awarded from the program, as NCMCA Vice President Larry Kirby, also among the first graduates, looks on.

Masonry Framed Homes In October, a Charlotte audience of some 80 homebuilders, realtors, masonry contractors and industry members heard from builders Joe Carter, Columbia, Donnie Canaday, Canaday Custom Homes, Greensboro, and Mark Correll, StoneMaster Custom Homes, Charlotte, as they shared their perspectives of the positive attributes concrete masonry framed homes bring to the market place. Among NCMCA members participating were (left to right) Don and Martha Alward, Alward Masonry, shown visiting with Susan Lee of ERA Wilder Realty, and Richard Saba, new Residential Manager for the Carolinas Concrete Masonry Association, during an on-site tour of four masonry framed homes. CCMA along with individual CCMA member firms and the cement and aggregate industry have committed to increasing the market share of concrete masonry framed homes in the coming year. NCMCA will contribute $20,000 to the promotion in year 2008. (Photograph courtesy of CCMA)

School Board Exhibit In November, NCMCA partnered with the Carolinas Concrete Masonry Association, Brick SouthEast and the masonry program at West Stanly High School to provide an exhibit at the North Carolina School Board Association Annual Conference in Greensboro. Assisting with hands-on demonstrations were students (left – right) Andrew Barbee, Joseph Ferguson, instructor Tim Kidd, students Luis Aquilar and Justin Wiley. The exhibit promoted masonry for school design and the importance of school vocational masonry instruction.

Sigmon Scholarship Award The NC State graduate student team of Albert McDonald, Kimberly Nelson and Karl Rogers (from left) have claimed the 2007 Sigmon Memorial Scholarship Masonry Design Award. NCMCA Past President Doug Burton (fourth from left) served as juror and NCMCA representative. The competition is part of (second from right) Professor Patrick Rand’s “Architectural Construction Systems” class. Ellen Weinsterin (right) of Dixon Weinstein Architects also served as juror. The scholarship is named in memory of David, Randy, and Dwayne Sigmon.

Certification Classes Continue Tom Masten (left) and David Troutman were among those attending the NCMCA Masonry Contractor certification class in October. The module one class was taught at McGee Bothers Company’s facility in Greensboro and instructed by masonry safety specialist Bill Parsons of Washington, DC. For information about NCMCA certification, call (828) 324-1564.

Fair Contest Winners Barbee Masonry’s Patrick Wilson is the Champion of the 54th Annual NC Department of Labor State Fair Apprentice Masonry Contest. Wilson finished first in a field of 23 contestants at the October event. Left to right, contest chairman Calvin Brodie, Third Place Finisher David Gantt of Beam Construction Company, Wilson, Second Place Finisher Joseph Wainwright of McGee Brothers Company, NC Department of Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry and NCMCA President Wayne Starr.

07 Fair Contestants Twenty-three contestants from nine firms participated in the 54th Annual Department of Labor Masonry State Fair Apprentice Skills Contest in Raleigh October 15th. The masonry industry provided over $10,000 in cash, tools, materials and equipment for the contest. Pictured with the contestants on the bottom row are NCMCA President Wayne Starr, second from left, contest chairman Calvin Brodie, third from left, and contest head judge Doug Burton, far right.

Golf Results The Fay Block Materials Team is the champion of the 15th Annual NCMCA State Golf Tournament. Left to right, Tournament Chairman David McQueen, team members Mike Lanier, John Foley and Mike Simmons, and NCMCA President Wayne Starr. Second place was claimed by Dwayne Bryant, Thom Hughes, Jeff Kennedy and Brian Carroll. The team of Doug Burton, Dick Moehring, George Openshaw and Ken Armistead finished third. David McQueen won “closest-to-the-pin” honors and Randy Beeson was recognized for “Longest Drive.” The Arrow Equipment Lull forklift hole-in-one prize once again went unclaimed. Lafarge North America provided the chicken barbecue after the tournament.

Community Project Greenville, NC Little League presented a proposal to the Eastern Carolina Chapter for a double brick wall to surround their main baseball field, which will host the 2007 North Carolina Little League State Baseball Championship tournament. The chapter did indeed provide the Little Leaguers with a $25,000 brick wall complete with precast concrete coping. Chapter President Tim Manning recognized Parrish Hoffman and Adams Products Company for donating 11,000 brick, Treavor Thomas with Holcim (US) for donating mortar, and John Zambelli with Tucker-Kirby company for accessories. Manning Masonry and Joyner Masonry Works provided labor. (Photo by NCMCA Eastern Carolina Chapter)