RMMI News and Events

Words: Ann WolterThe Rocky Mountain Masonry Institute (RMMI) is wrapping up its spring season of workforce development. In the past four months, RMMI staff members have presented bricklaying demonstrations at more than 20 elementary, middle and high schools in the Denver and Colorado Springs areas. Several thousand students have taken part in hands-on opportunities to learn about bricklaying, as well as presentations on education, work ethics and entrepreneurship.

RMMI Technical Director Diane Travis has started her annual Colorado Mountain Tour, providing seminar luncheons for architects, engineers and masons on Colorado's Western Slope. This year's topic is "Sustainable Design and Masonry," and Travis will discuss meeting LEED green building certification requirements using masonry. During May, she presented the seminar in Durango, Grand Junction, Aspen, Steamboat and Vail, Colo. Later this summer, she will take her seminar tour to Wyoming and Montana architects.

Spring also brought about the annual RMMI Golf Classic. Held on May 31 at Vista Ridge Golf Course, approximately 144 golfers competed for bragging rights, while also helping to raise funds for RMMI's apprentice training program.

Future events include: the Clay Shoot at Kiowa Creek on July 13; the annual Summer Retreat at the Lodge at Vail, Aug. 9-11; and the "Run Around the Block" 5K race on Sept. 16. Sponsorship opportunities, ranging from $250 to $2,000, are available for all of the events.

For more information, contact admin@rmmi.org, or visit www.rmmi.org.
Managing the Mysterious Job Site Slowdown
August 2026

Every contractor knows the feeling. A job looks good on paper. The schedule makes sense. The crews are lined up. The material is supposed to be there. Then, for no obvious reason, the whole job starts crawling. That is what makes it so frustrating. Nobod

Damian Lang
Contractor Tip of the Month
Read More
Sainte-Cécile Cathedral
August 2026

Imagine being handed a set of plans calling for the largest brick cathedral in the world. Now imagine building it without modern cranes, engineered scaffolding, forklifts, power tools, or structural analysis software. That was the challenge facing medie

Cass Stern
Marvelous Masonry
Read More
Why SkillsUSA is the Keystone to MCAA’s Outreach
August 2026

When I stepped into the role of the MCAA’s first Director of Youth Outreach and Education, I knew we had a massive job ahead of us. I am a fourth-generation brick mason, and I have spent over two decades teaching the trade, from working with apprentices a

Robert Melgaard
Outreach Outlook
Read More
The First Paycheck
August 2026

Several years ago, Huntley Brothers hired a young apprentice. It was his first real job, and he had never had a paycheck before. Friday rolled around, and he got paid just like everyone else. Later that day, one of the guys told me something I have never

Kent Huntley
Chairman’s Message
Read More