Masonry Magazine May 2001 Page. 6
president's message
IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES!
Fifteen thousand of you read Masonry Magazine each month. Fifteen thousand of you classify yourselves as mason contractors and face the issues every other mason contractor deals with everyday. Unfortunately, almost all of you face those issues alone without the help of a national association. The Mason Contractors Association of America is your association. The only association that represents your interests everyday in dozens of ways that affect your business. Unfortunately, the MCAA supports you nationally without your financial support. Most of you have chosen not to affiliate your business with the MCAA and I am personally inviting you to join the MCAA today.
Many of you are members of a local mason contractor organization and believe that you are automatically a member of the national association. Unfortunately that is not true. Many of the local mason contractor associations do not believe that you would affiliate and pay membership dues to the national association while supporting the local association. So they only promote membership in the local association. I believe that this is not in the best interest of our industry. There is a need for both a strong national association and a strong local association. Collectively, we have a symbiotic relationship, one depending on the other. Nationally, the MCAA is able to better fight code issues, promote masonry, publish educational materials, fight OSHA and government intervention, and lobby the Congress. Locally, your local associations are better able to recruit and train our workforce, communicate personally with customers and build our industry. Without two strong associations, our industry is weakened.
Time and time again, I hear contractors say, "What's in it for me if I join the National MCAA? What is my return? Why give the MCAA money when I support the local group? I'm only one small contractor, what could my small dues dollars do?" Many of the actions of the national association are intangible. How can you quantify the return to you when the MCAA is fighting for the rights of the mason contractor in a code or standards meeting? It's difficult to quantify your personal return when other organizations are fighting to place a greater burden on the backs of the mason contractor. What's the benefit to you when we are able to fight those groups' efforts? What's the true cost to your firm if you had to develop a training manual or some other publication yourself when the national association produces what you need at a fraction of the cost to you? Just look at our new resource catalog which lists over 100 publications targeted to help your business. What's the direct benefit to you when the MCAA promotes the use of masonry with construction customers, or even fights for it during jurisdictional disputes? The work that the association has done on wall bracing, forklift training and workforce safety alone can save your firm thousands of dollars a year.
MCAA national dues are extremely reasonable. Your firm can become a member for roughly the equivalent to one day's labor wages of a single worker! Isn't the future viability of our industry worth that to you?
Why does the MCAA need your support? The answer is easy. Your support, added to that of other mason contractors from all across the U.S., gives the national association two valuable resources. The first is obviously greater funding to support increased programs and industry advocacy. Secondly, if your national association represented the numbers that other construction associations represent, it would give our industry a greater voice and influence in critical areas such as codes and government intervention.
I can assure you that your membership is vital to the future of the masonry industry. I can also assure you that your membership dues dollars will be well invested in support of a stronger industry.
I am a small mason contractor and I work predominately in the Tacoma, Washington market. I don't work all across the country, yet I deeply believe that my support of the MCAA is vital to the long term survival of the industry nationwide. If I am able to write my modest membership dues check every year, I know that there are thousands of you reading this magazine that can write a check today. And I guarantee that the value will be there for you!
I ask you to call today to join the Mason Contractors Association of America. I ask you to look past any differences that you may have and send us your support for a greater industry. Call us today at 1-800-536-2225 and tell us that you're ready to support the association that supports your future!
If only half of you reading this magazine joins today, that would result in nearly $2 million dollars of revenues that can be used to expand our industry. Our current revenues from dues is only $350,000. Imagine the possibilities!
We look forward to your call!
Richard M. Johnston,
President MCAA