National Contest Validates Training, Development

Words: Dan Kamys

National Contest Validates Training, Development

The 2009 National Masonry Contest was part of the 45th annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference, held in Kansas City, Mo., in June. The contest allowed 45 masons-to-be to showcase their skills. For up to six hours, contestants in the national masonry championships strove to build the best composite project of block and brick according to plans distributed the previous day.

The first-place winners were:

  • Post Secondary Competition:
    Bradley Wright, 19, Selma, Ala.
  • High School (Secondary) Competition:
    Jared Gandy, 19, Mt. Pleasant, N.C.







Jared Gandy
Jared Gandy
Restoring the Breath of the Building: The Life-Saving Science Behind Historic Masonry Repairs
July 2026

When I first set out to become a historic preservation and restoration mason, I imagined that most of my trade would involve repairing the effects of old age. Instead, 99 percent of my work is attempting to stabilize and reverse damage caused by recent an

Laying the Foundation for the Future: Workforce Development at the Arizona Masonry Council
July 2026

For generations, masonry has been built on a simple but powerful principle: knowledge passed from one set of hands to the next. In Arizona, the Arizona Masonry Council (AMC) is working to ensure that tradition continues by investing in one of the industr

What Mason Contractors Don't Know Is Costing Them Money
July 2026

Most mason contractors can tell you exactly what a job should cost before it starts. Bid labor hours, material takeoffs, and crew rates per square foot. The numbers are on paper, and they look right. What most can't tell you is whether those numbers held

Preserving Masonry Aesthetics with Concealed Lintel Systems
July 2026

Masonry has long been valued for its ability to create buildings with character, permanence, and visual appeal. Features such as arches, deep reveals, corbelling, and decorative brickwork continue to be popular design elements in modern architecture. Howe