Masonry Magazine April 1974 Page. 16
Meet Your New
REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS
LOUIS J. HELBERT, JR.
Vice President. Region F
Louie Helbert first was exposed to the masonry industry after service with the U.S. Navy in 1948, and served his apprenticeship in his native city of Sterling, Colorado. In 1954, he moved to Denver and worked as a masonry superintendent in the area until September, 1963 when he formed his own organization, Helbert Masonry, Inc. HMI is presently a state-wide firm concentrating on working in the front-range area between Fort Collins and Colorado Springs, specializing in schools, institutional and commercial building projects.
As of later, Louie has been very active in industry affairs within the state of Colorado. He is a past-president and present Trustee of the Colorado Mason Contractors Association, and current president of the Colorado Masonry Institute, which is one of the leaders in masonry promotion. He is also Trustee of the Colorado Masonry Guild and serves as advisor on a local apprentice committee.
Louie's home life is set at a rapid pace also. Together with his wife, Kay, keeping up with the activities of their five children sometimes seems a monumental task. Their names and ages: Jenni, 20; Shelly, 17; Shawn, 12; Mark, 11, and Mary Jo, 8. Swimming seems to be the name of the game for the smaller three, like five times per week. Hunting and fishing seems to be the "Bear's" bag, and Wyoming is where he does it.
MACK H. PETTIT
Vice President, Region B
Mack Pettit is President of Pettit Construction Co., Spartanburg, the leading mason contracting firm in South Carolina. After graduating from Roebuck High School in 1949, he earned his journeyman's card a year later and worked in the Southwest until he and his three brothers formed their present company in 1959.
He is President of the Upper South Carolina Masonry Contractors Association and has served as state chairman of MCAA for the past several years. He also is a member of the Walnut Grove United Methodist Church where he serves on the board and is chairman of the finance committee.
Mack and his wife, Pat, have four children: David, 21, who is affiliated with the company; Mrs. Mark (Sandy) Smith, 19, of Kansas City, Mo.; Eric, 17, a senior in high school, and Rusty, 11. His and Pat's hobby is golf, and he has served as President of Three Pines Country Club for the past two years. They also enjoy traveling when they find the time.
OSCAR F. PERSON
Vice President, Region H
A native of Sweden, Oscar Person came to the United States in 1926 and started as a mason contractor ten years later with Nils H. Wik as partner in the firm of Person & Wik, Inc. In 1962 Oscar became sole owner after buying out Wik, and the company's corporate name was changed to its present-day Person-Western, Inc. His organization recently finished the following masonry projects: a seven-story building in San Francisco, a six-story building in San Leandro, and an 11-story structure in Oakland. The company is presently working on a 10-story Sheraton Hotel in Burlingame, Calif., as well as a number of other sizable jobs.
Oscar served in the Construction Department of the U.S. Maritime Commission during World War II, and in 1958, in conjunction with the Department of Architecture of California, developed the high-lift grout system which is now used extensively in brick and block construction. Person-Western, Inc., one of the major mason contracting companies in Northern California, uses this grouting system in all of its work wherever possible.
Oscar is a frequent speaker at seminars and luncheons relating to a variety of masonry construction subjects, including high-lift grouting.
He and his wife, Eva, reside in Burlingame. They have a married daughter, Carolyn, who lives in Chicago while her husband attends Wheaton College.