Masonry Magazine April 1981 Page. 6
After the traditional presentation of colors by a U.S. Marine Color Guard, the Opening Session of the 1981 MCAA International Masonry Conference was underway on Monday, March 2.
'81 MCAA CONFERENCE REPORT
Reno, Nevada-They came from as far away as Honolulu, Boston and New Brunswick, Canada-to help make MCAA's 31st Annual International Masonry Conference and Educational Trade Show one of the most successful ever.
They came from 36 states and five Canadian provinces, and they came to listen, to participate and to learn. Including MCAA committee and regional vice presidents' conferences, there were 31 meetings and 23 speakers who contributed to the educational value of the sessions spanning five days from February 27 to March 3 at the spectacular MGM Grand Hotel.
Immediately preceding the Conference, on February 25 and 26, the MCAA Management Institute presented its 1981 "Masonry Construction Forum." The one and one-half day seminar, which was attended by approximately 150 persons, featured 11 lecturers, all acknowledged leaders in their field, and centered on three main topics-"Insurance and Bonding for the Mason Contractor," "Load-bearing Masonry-Challenge of the 80s," and "Reinforced Pre-assembled Masonry Panels."
Leading the discussions were: Bob Gill and Bob Sunich, both vice presidents of Talbert Corp., Denver, Colo.: Jerry G. Pope, construction management consultant based in Greeley, Colo., and presenter of MCAA's continuing series of masonry management and estimating seminars: George Hanson. P.E., structural engineer with the Colorado Masonry Institute; Oscar Person, MCAA regional vice president, Burlingame, Calif.; Ralph A. Stephenson, distributor sales manager. Sanford Brick Corp., Sanford. N.C.: and Jack Bailey, Denver, Colo., R. F. Barkshire, Federal Way. Wash., Dan Berich, Denver, Colo.. Layton Pettit. Spartanburg, N.C., and William Vetovitz, Brunswick, Ohio, all mason contractors with considerable experience in loadbearing and masonry panel construction.
Friday, February 27, was devoted entirely to Association business in the form of committee meetings, regional vice presidents' conferences, and a meeting of the MCAA Executive Board. Also convening during this time were the Industry Promotion Directors and the Board of Directors of the Canadian Masonry Contractors Association.
February 28 featured MCAA's increasingly popular "Saturday Morning Workshops." The four group participation seminars were staggered time-wise so as to permit members to attend any of three sessions best suited to their individual needs.
In Workshop #1-"Manpower in the 80s," Robert Ebeling, chairman, and Bruce N. Voss, newly appointed