Get Ready for the 75th Midyear!

Words: Sheryl Dentinger

I’m Sheryl Dentinger, wife of the current MCAA Chairman, Dick Dentinger. I started being a part of the MCAA conventions over 40 years ago, since Dick and I started dating. Bill Dentinger, my father-in-law, a legendary man, was chairman at the time we were planning our wedding. In fact, it was critical that he and Shirley checked their MCCA convention dates before we could finalize our wedding date as Bill was needed at the conventions too.

If you weren’t aware, the locations of the mid-years are always very scenic and historic. Mackinac Island will be another site with a wonderful atmosphere for our mid-year convention. What a place to celebrate the MCAA’s 75 years. What an excellent history this island must share in Michigan’s upper peninsula. We will be enjoying The Grand Hotel, which is appropriately named, for many events. I look forward to learning MCAA’s history, seeing and riding in horse drawn carriages, and soaking in the mystifying scenery of Mackinac Island. Without motors, it seems so peaceful, but I’m sure the MCAA membership will make some noise that week.



MCAA members have always been excellent at adventuring while at the conventions. Having attended many of the conventions over the last four decades, I’ve had amazing experiences. I have golfed amongst majestic pines in Seattle, losing my ball on nearly every hole, went boating on the Puget Sound, sang at a piano bar with convention friends until 3 a.m. in New Orleans, fell slowly off my Jet Ski in the waters of Key West - while parked on a sandbar, biked through the mountains in Steamboat, Colorado and nearly flipped my electric bike over a railing into a creek, went ziplining and four wheeling through the mountains of Arizona, and in Boston heard ghost stories and visited the iconic Cheers bar. Not only that, how about imagining a team adventure race with an “older GPS unit” through Park City? We created a paper tower, ran, puzzled, ran some more, puzzled some more, “bowled” a volleyball down a hill for strikes and then ran to a bar for a shot. Amazingly, we won that Amazing Race. We are still awaiting our trophy!

My growth from these convention experiences is immense. The education I’ve had with MCAA is plentiful and enlightening. I’ve gathered much political insight from our PAC over the years. Political information I may not have found elsewhere. I’ve attended “speed dating” and learned from the best in the industry. I’ve listened to many clever and enlightened speeches. I’ve had support, feedback and advice from others in different regions about their similar work. This is why MCAA is priceless to me.



Throughout my life of attending, I have developed lasting friendships with people from Michigan, Illinois, South Carolina, North Carolina, Arizona, Washington, California, Kentucky, Montana, Massachusetts, Colorado, Texas, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, to name…more than a few. I’m from Minnesota and my friendships reach out to states far and wide. I am flabbergasted to have learned so much from these people and have enjoyed their companionship throughout the years.

These are my personal reflections on how important MCAA has been for me. I expect you all have similar memories of the impact MCCA had on your career and life. Whether you are newer to the organization or retired from it, you are all woven into its history. Come to Mackinac Island and celebrate the incredible history. Who knows, maybe there is a piano bar where we can sing along to songs from 75 years ago!



About: News and Events
GEN NXT: Mason Paolini
May 2026

This month, the MCAA got to talk with Mason Paolini, a mason who has a clear passion and talent for the trade he has such high praise for. Read about Mason’s story and why he sees a future in this industry. Mason Paolini’s career began with a simple desi

Justin Stengel
GEN NXT
Read More
Marvelous Masonry: Tianjin Zhongshuge Library
May 2026

It is not unusual today for masonry to be treated as a surface decision rather than a structural one. Too often, brick enters a project late in the process, trimmed back by budgets or reduced to a veneer once the “real” building work is finished. The Tian

Cass Stern
Marvelous Masonry
Read More
Fechino Files: Concrete Pavers around a Pool
May 2026

Many folks over the years have placed concrete pavers around their pool as a nice form of decorative pool deck. Early in the 2000’s, I took a class held by the Interlocking Concrete Paver Institute, then known as the ICPI. At the time I attended the class

Steven Fechino
Fechino Files
Read More
Chairman's Message: Staying the Course
May 2026

Spring is one of my favorite times of year. There’s energy in the air. Jobs are picking up. Crews are hitting their rhythm. Schedules are filling up. You can feel momentum building again. And every year around this time, I find myself thinking about con

Kent Huntley
Chairman’s Message
Read More