MCAA

MCAA Midyear Meeting

Networking, Education and Honors at the MCAA Midyear Meeting in Milwaukee

Shown are all of the MCAA 2014 TEAM Award winners.

The MCAA Midyear Meeting had fantastic attendance in MCAA Chairman Mark Kemp’s beautiful hometown of Milwaukee. The meeting kicked off with the TEAM Awards Dinner, held at the Harley-Davidson Museum.

	Midyear Meeting attendees enjoyed networking before the TEAM Awards dinner began.
	Congressman Reid Ribble addresses Midyear attendees during a dinner held at The Horny Goat.
	Networking Roundtables offered an opportunity for Midyear Meeting attendees to share ideas and best practices.
	Midyear attendees are shown at the MCAA Committee Meetings.

The purpose of the Tribute to Exemplary Achievements in Masonry (TEAM) Awards is to recognize projects and members of the construction team for outstanding accomplishments in masonry design and construction. All mason contractors or architects were eligible to submit a project. Masonry had to be the dominant material used in the project. Any work completed and landscaped between Jan.1, 2010 and Dec. 31, 2013 was eligible to be entered.

Projects could only be entered into one category. Those included Commercial, Education: K-8, Education: 9-12, Education: College/University, Government, Industrial, Institutional, Landscape/Hardscape, Rehabilitation/Restoration, Residential: Single Family, Residential: Multi-Family, Block, Lightweight Block, and LEED.

The awards were presented to the mason contractor, general contractor, architect, masonry supplier, and building owner. All projects are judged on the following criteria: Design, Craftsmanship, Percent of Visible Masonry, Overall Aesthetic Appeal, and Masonry Difficulty.

A jury panel consisted of mason contractors selected from across the country who are not competing in the competition. The judges were selected by the MCAA TEAM Awards Committee. You can read all about the TEAM Awards on pp. 44-47 of this issue.

On the second day of the meeting, after a group breakfast, MCAA Committee Meetings were kicked off. Each committee provided a report updating participants on committee statuses on various initiatives and projects.

A Chairman’s Reception was hosted by MCAA Chairman Mark Kemp and his wife, Pauline. Later that evening, the MCAA South of 40 group attended a Milwaukee Brewers baseball game.

The third day of the meeting began with a breakfast and MCAA board meeting, which also was attended by MCAA members. An update was given on The Masonry Foundation as well.

Following the breakfast were Networking Roundtable Discussions. Issues of relevance were discussed as they pertained to different positions held within the masonry industry. Best practices and ideas were shared and exchanged, which provided plenty of valuable insight. A dinner held at The Horny Goat featured a special guest, Rep. Reid Ribble (R-WI).

Stone Cold Masonry received an MCAA Safety Award in the Greater Than 100,000 Hours category, taking first place.	The team from Doyle Hatfield accepted the Education: 9-12 TEAM Award.	Gary Joyner of Joyner Masonry accepted the Education: College/University TEAM Award from MCAA Chairman Mark Kemp.
Jeff Speck with Big River Industries accepted a TEAM Award for the Lightweight Block category.	Mackie Bounds with Brazos Masonry accepted the TEAM Award for the Industrial category.	Buddie Barnes of Dee Brown Inc. accepts the Residential: Multi Family TEAM Award.

Five 2014 MCAA Safety Advantage Award winners were recognized during the Midyear Meeting. The MCAA 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.

Dick Dentinger of B&D Associates Inc. won the top prize – cash – in the Speed Dating giveaway.	Totally Milwaukee: a brat with sauerkraut on a pretzel roll. Yum!

In the Greater Than 100,000 Hours category, the first place winner was Stone Cold Masonry, and the second place winner was Otto Baum Co. Inc.

In the Less Than 100,000 Hours category, Minahan Construction Inc. won first place, with second place going to Spencer Brickwork Inc. and third place going to Superior Masonry Builders Inc.

The MCAA South of 40 group attended a Milwaukee Brewers baseball game.	MCAA Treasurer Paul Oldham plays bartender during the Chairman’s Reception, hosted by Mark and Pauline Kemp.

On the last day of the meeting, the MCAA held the first-ever “Speed Dating” event. MCAA Speed Dating is a rapid series of 25-minute business-to-business meetings between mason contractors and manufacturer/suppliers to openly discuss business needs as well as the latest product and equipment innovations advancing the masonry industry.

Contractors met with nine companies in an intimate setting, where they presented their latest products and services. Once a meeting was over, participants moved on to the next appointment to learn how that company will improve your organization’s business and increase profitability. Participating companies included Beeline, Big River Industries Inc., cfiFOAM Inc., Concrete Products Group, EZ Grout Corp., Non-Stop Scaffolding, SPEC MIX Inc., Tradesmen's Software Inc., and Xtreme Manufacturing.

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