2016 MCAA Safety Advantage Award Winners

Words: Dan KamysThe MCAA presented its 2016 Safety Advantage Awards to six companies on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016, during the MCAA Midyear Meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz. [caption id="attachment_13940" align="alignleft" width="640"]Left to right: Bob Gates, Gates Construction Company, Inc.; Mike Cook, Gates Construction Company, Inc.; Mike Sutter, MCAA Chairman; Danks Burton, Pinnacle Masonry, Inc. Left to right: Bob Gates, Gates Construction Company, Inc.; Mike Cook, Gates Construction Company, Inc.; Mike Sutter, MCAA Chairman; Danks Burton, Pinnacle Masonry, Inc.[/caption] Safety Advantage Awards are presented based on a mason contractor’s incident rate. Awards were presented to the top companies with greater than 100,000 hours worked by all employees, and the top companies with less than 100,000 hours worked by all employees. The winners were: Greater Than 100,000 Hours First Place: Gates Construction Co., Inc., Mooresville, N.C. Second Place: Fenimore-Blythe, Ltd., Fort Worth, Texas Less Than 100,000 Hours First Place (4-Way Tie): C & S Co., Inc., Pittsfield, Mass.; Grant Contracting Co., Inc., Fenton, Mo.; Molter Corp., Tinley Park, Ill.; and Pinnacle Masonry, Inc., Cary, N.C. The goal of the MCAA Safety Advantage Awards is to help draw attention to the need and benefits of performing safely. Visit www.masoncontractors.org/safety/awards for more information.
Elevating Masonry: Old Habits, Familiar Tools, and the Real Reason Masonry Contractors Aren’t Making the Switch
May 2026

Ask a masonry contractor how they run their jobsite, and the answer probably sounds familiar: paper logs, a flurry of texts, maybe a shared email thread. It works until it doesn’t. And yet, even as purpose-built field management software has become more a

Erin Koets
MAP Partner
Read More
The Cornerstone of Craftsmanship: Nurturing Masonry Talent Through Competition
May 2026

In the evolving landscape of skilled trades, masonry stands as a testament to enduring craftsmanship and dedication. Yet, the question of how to cultivate and showcase this vital expertise remains paramount. While the bright lights of national competition

Robert Melgaard
Resources
Read More
There’s the Typical Way to Brace a Wall. And Then There’s a Better Way.
May 2026

Wall bracing is one of the most important safety considerations on any masonry jobsite, yet it is often treated as a task that happens after the wall is built. Crews return, equipment is brought in, and time is set aside to secure walls that have already

Abigail Spung
MAP Partner
Read More
Remembering Harry McGraw
May 2026

The masonry industry has lost one of its great teachers and craftsmen with the passing of Harry Edward McGraw, who died April 26, 2026, in Houston, Texas, at the age of 93.

Dan Kamys
Read More