2025 Masonry Milestones

Words: Justin Stengel
Photos: MCAA

Take a look back at 2025 to see the MCAA’s biggest achievements and most memorable events!

MASONRY STRONG Podcast
The second year of the MASONRY STRONG Podcast was even bigger than the launch year back in 2024. With so many masonry industry professionals having great conversations and talks about their journeys, we were thrilled to see the positive reception to this industry’s most-loved podcast!

And thanks to all of the amazing listeners, episode 31 of the MASONRY STRONG Podcast featuring James Hoskinson has amounted to over 100,000 views across all of our platforms. This feat enabled us to award James with the first-ever Social Impact Award at the 2026 World of Concrete convention.

 

Opened the Outreach and Education Office
This year, the MCAA launched its new Youth Outreach and Education branch, appointing Robert Melgaard as its first Director. A fourth-generation mason with 19 years of educational experience, Melgaard has and plans to continue leading initiatives to bridge the industry-education gap, establish regional centers, and inspire a new generation of masonry professionals through strategic partnerships.



MCAA Celebrating 75 Years
Reaching the 75th anniversary is a monumental milestone for the Mason Contractors Association of America, symbolizing three-quarters of a century of dedication to the masonry industry. Since its founding, the MCAA has served as the backbone of the trade, relentlessly advocating for contractors, enhancing workforce safety, and driving legislative support.

 

GEORGE Wall Evaluation Kit
The GEORGE Wall Evaluation Kit is a cutting-edge digital solution designed to modernize masonry inspections and training. By integrating 3D scanning technology with augmented reality, this toolkit allows professionals to move efficiently, providing objective, high-precision data for wall analysis.



White House Task Force
In 2025, the MCAA joined the White House "AI in Education" task force, chaired by First Lady Melania Trump, to showcase its revolutionary Wall Evaluator software. This LiDAR-based tool eliminates subjective grading by digitally scanning and scoring student projects against industry standards.

 

Generational Knowledge Project
The MCAA’s Generational Knowledge Project, which started in 2025, aims to solve the continual problem faced in the masonry industry: with every retirement, decades of wisdom vanish, forcing the next generation to relearn painful lessons from scratch. Leveraging their proprietary AI platform, GEORGE, the MCAA plans to transform the experience of industry legends into an interactive, on-demand resource.

This isn't just a static archive; it is a digital "Council of Mentors." Future leaders can now consult titans of the trade on specific challenges, from contract red flags to complex estimations. By digitizing this legacy, the MCAA ensures the next generation builds their careers on a foundation of proven wisdom, not just concrete.



Palisades Chimney Rescue
Rising from the devastation of the Pacific Palisades wildfires, Project Chimney is a landmark preservation effort led by the House Museum with critical support from the Mason Contractors Association of America.

Racing against demolition deadlines, teams carefully relocated these structures, which one day will create the Palisades Fire Memorial. Far more than salvaged brick, these chimneys will stand as a permanent public art installation, serving as powerful symbols of "Masonry Strong" resilience and a sanctuary for community remembrance.

   

Huge thank you to everyone who helps support us in pushing the masonry industry forward. We look to make 2026 an even better year for masonry!


About: Industry News
Design Choices That Endure: Specification and Installation Go Hand-in-Hand
May 2026

Design decisions don’t live on paper; they live on the wall, the ceiling, the floor, and throughout every space. Today’s projects are driven by highly curated design intent, from layered color palettes to mixed-material façades. But once those decisions

Jeff Tew
MAP Partner
Read More
Marvelous Masonry: Tianjin Zhongshuge Library
May 2026

It is not unusual today for masonry to be treated as a surface decision rather than a structural one. Too often, brick enters a project late in the process, trimmed back by budgets or reduced to a veneer once the “real” building work is finished. The Tian

Cass Stern
Marvelous Masonry
Read More
Fechino Files: Concrete Pavers around a Pool
May 2026

Many folks over the years have placed concrete pavers around their pool as a nice form of decorative pool deck. Early in the 2000’s, I took a class held by the Interlocking Concrete Paver Institute, then known as the ICPI. At the time I attended the class

Steven Fechino
Fechino Files
Read More
Chairman's Message: Staying the Course
May 2026

Spring is one of my favorite times of year. There’s energy in the air. Jobs are picking up. Crews are hitting their rhythm. Schedules are filling up. You can feel momentum building again. And every year around this time, I find myself thinking about con

Kent Huntley
Chairman’s Message
Read More