Masonry Magazine February 1984 Page. 11
A large contingent of Canadians traveled to New Orleans to attend MCAA's Conference and combined that with a CMCA Executive Committee Meeting on January 27 and a Board of Directors meeting the following day at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.
special interest groups, and political action committee (PAC) representatives that now pervade Washington. "They are there to make their wishes and interests known to Congressional members and influence much of the legislation that is being passed today," Erlenborn said. He urged everyone to do likewise with the representatives from their own Congressional districts in order to get results.
Touching on apprenticeship and training programs, Erlenborn said Congress is looking at these programs "more carefully." He said that apprenticeship should be the role of the federal government instead of at the state level. "We need more stable and unified laws in the field of labor-management relations," he said.
Paul Lenchuk, who previously had announced his pending retirement from NCMA early next year, gave his personal "Reflections on the Past. Present and Future of the Masonry Industry and Trades."
"I think one of the finest contributions we can offer to the construction industry is the craftmanship of the mason," he said. "I have toured the world, looking at ancient buildings in the Middle East, examined the cathedrals of northern Europe, been wonder-struck by the Great Wall of China, and searched through the remains of the civilizations of southern Europe and the Americas.
"I stand in awe of the work done by the mason. Jobs of this magnitude obviously were bid and managed by mason contractors. Nothing done today by non-masons can equal it in steel, glass, wood, metal and the various pre-shaped concretes. It is a legacy that we carry, inherited through the labors and knowhow of the past five-thousand years."
Lenchuk attacked the present-day trend of designing "disposable" buildings, those that will last only 50 years or so. "There is no appeal to build for the ages," he said. "The disposable building is built fast and cheap. That's why the lightweight building of metal and glass is taking market share away from masonry building. And that's also why so many buildings look like they came out of cookie cutters."
Lenchuk said the masonry industry and trades will endure for "several more centuries. While we have lost market share, it is because at one time we had it all, and now we are being attacked by every newcomer and new idea. As an industry and as trades, we have just begun to respond."
(Paul Lenchuk's remarks will be printed in their entirety in a forthcoming issue of Masonry-Ed.)
The day's activities ended with a buffet luncheon in the Trade Show exhibit area and the first of two MCAA
Don Leonard awards pins to MCAA officers and then attends the Trade Show to pick up some technical information.
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