July 2013

A Lot Happening

John Smith President Mason Contractors Association of America

The MCAA officers, along with Jeff Buczkiewicz and staff, have been very busy this past month. The staff continues to work with committee chairs and committee members to pursue our goals.

One project we are currently developing would have the MCAA take a role in the vocational training in high schools throughout the state of Kentucky. Look for more on this in future issues of the magazine as this is an exciting development and being done in cooperation with our national training partner the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER).

As we all start to see things picking up, the next problem will be the need for good, skilled craftsmen. We are excited about the opportunity to build this future together with our friends at NCCER. Many times, these opportunities to recruit our future workforce come through the high schools with successful vocational programs. We would welcome working with the Union to help promote our trade and development of its future.

MasonrySystems.org is off and running and has shown great promise with its overall use by the masonry industry. Imani Brodie and her committee, with the help of Tim O’Toole, have many ideas and have made many improvements to this site. Go online and check it out. Traffic to the site continues to grow, and we encourage you to use the site and refer folks to it. It is a great tool for the design community.

A special thanks needs to go out to Zach Everett and his committee for their efforts in safety. The Safety Advantage electronic newsletter is now going out monthly, and I always look forward to receiving it and the invaluable information in it. If your company has any safety issues, please feel free to contact his committee through our office. They will help find you assistance.

Lastly, we are just about to announce the information on the Midyear Meeting in Orlando, Oct. 2 – 5. We have worked hard to make this a special family event. There will be some meetings and sessions, but we have left special time for each of you to spend some precious time with your children and grandchildren at Disney World. Why not take a couple of days and relax after some very tough times and a busy construction season?

Look for the information to come out shortly. Reservations are limited, so do not wait. I, personally, will be bringing my entire family, including my three precious grandchildren – Kaylee, Isabel and Hudson. See you there!

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