MCAA - 2003 Masonry Showcase Review

Apprentices Show Their Skills

On March 15th, the fourth annual International Masonry Skills Challenge took place inside the Tampa Convention Center during the Masonry Showcase Exhibition. Twenty-two apprentices from the U.S. and Canada showed off their capabilities for three hours of intensive work constructing a project appropriate to their skill level.

After close scrutiny by the panel of judges using ten different criteria including plumb, level, square and range, and measurements, the winners were announced by the Chairman of the event, Don Attfield (Canadian Masonry Contractors Association, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada), for first-, second- and third-year apprentice skill levels.

The winners were:

1st year apprentices

First Place

Darryl McNeil, E.G.S. Inc., Md.

Second

John Nero, Frank Brown and Sons Masonry, Ohio

Third

Cruz Cervantes, Bickey Construction, Fla.

2nd year apprentices

First Place

Steve Koontz, Crest Masonry, Ohio

Second

Kevin Willis, L.F. Jennings, Va.

Third

Luke Balsingh, Masonry Builders, Fla.

3rd year apprentices

First Place

Chris Sutherland, Red Brookshire of Florida, Fla.

Second

Chris Coljohn, Medhurst Mason Contractors, Inc., Ohio

Third

Ryan Winkler, Canadian Mason Contractors Association, Ontario

The event was made possible by donations of materials and prizes from:

Spec Mix
Marshalltown Trowel
Hanson Brick
CSR Rinker

For more information about the competition, contact Melissa Polivka, MCAA Director of Workforce Development, at (800) 536-2225 or mpolivka@masoncontractors.com.