September 2008: Making the Grade

Words: Dan KamysSeptember 2008 Making the Grade

Honor and Skill Young mason Jason Salvas has it all.

Jason Salvas knows how to stay busy. Even in high school, Salvas was a multi-tasker, staying busy with basketball, the National Honor Society, and working daily with his father and grandfather as a laborer on the family's dairy farm.

[caption id="attachment_9890" align="alignright" width="200"]Jason Salvas participating in the 2007 National Masonry Contest, held in conjunction with the SkillsUSA National Leadership Conference. Shown is Jason Salvas participating in the 2007 National Masonry Contest, held in conjunction with the SkillsUSA National Leadership Conference.[/caption]
"They didn't teach me masonry, but they taught me to work hard and to never give up no matter how rough the road gets," says Salvas of his male mentors. "They have been a big part of my life and have inspired me to be the best I can be."

When he was a junior in high school, Salvas enrolled in the masonry program at Harvard H. Ellis Technical High School in Danielson, Conn., and graduated in the spring of 2008.

"Jason is such a hard worker," says Michael Daigle, Salvas' masonry instructor at Harvard H. Ellis. "He works every day with his father and grandfather at Spruce Hill (Dairy) Farms. He seems to like the masonry trade as it comes in handy on the farm."

Daigle says Salvas has been an excellent athlete, honor role student and a respectable young man.

"I saw his leadership as captain of the basketball team and as our shop representative," he says. "He will do the masonry trade proud."

[caption id="attachment_9891" align="alignnone" width="417"]Jason Salvas' instructor, Michael Daigle (left), Jason Salvas (right), and Jasons' father, Paul Salvas (center), at the conclusion of the 2007 National Masonry Contest held in conjunction with the SkillsUSA National Leadership Conference. Shown are Jason Salvas' instructor, Michael Daigle (left), Jason Salvas (right), and Jasons' father, Paul Salvas (center), at the conclusion of the 2007 National Masonry Contest held in conjunction with the SkillsUSA National Leadership Conference.[/caption]  

Salvas shares a mutual respect for his instructor. "I felt Mr. Daigle's interest in me. He seems so dedicated to teaching me and other students all he can about masonry."

Salvas is a two-time participant in the National Masonry Contest held as part of the SkillsUSA National Leadership Conference at Bartle Hall in Kansas City, Mo., each June. He plans to attend Three Rivers Community College this fall.

    Return to Table of Contents  
PPE That Workers Actually Wear: Building Buy-In Through Education and Smart Selection
August 2026

In masonry construction, personal protective equipment (PPE) is often the last line of defense between a worker and an injury. Yet despite its importance, PPE compliance remains one of the most common challenges on jobsites across the country. The realit

Greg Brown
Safety Library
Read More
Zero Laydown: Navigating the Logistics of Tight Urban Job Sites
August 2026

In modern commercial construction, spatial real estate has become just as valuable as the materials themselves. The industry shift toward high-density, urban projects means that the sprawling job sites of the past have been replaced by tight footprints wh

Shayne Sanders
MAP Partner
Read More
Why "The Software Can't Track That" Is Finally Going Away
August 2026

For as long as specialty contractors have used field software, most of them have kept a workaround somewhere: a spreadsheet on a foreman's laptop, a whiteboard in the trailer, or a text thread where crew leads send block counts at the end of the day becau

Erin Koets
Build Smart
MAP Partner
Read More
Monadnock Building
August 2026

Chicago’s Monadnock Building doesn’t dominate the skyline the way it once did. Surrounded by steel-and-glass towers, the dark brick structure can seem almost understated. But for anyone in the masonry industry, it remains one of the most important buildin

Cass Stern
American Treasure
Brick Clay Brick
Read More