From the Editor

Masonry Magazine wins
Prestigious Boger Award

Jennie Farnsworth, managing editor
jen@lionhrtpub.com

The Construction Writers Association's Robert F. Boger Award for Special Reports was given to MCAA's Masonry magazine on May 1st, in Washington, D.C. Masonry and author/editor, Tom Inglesby, won the award for the "Pentagon Series — The Phoenix Project," a series of articles in the August 2002 issue on the reconstruction of the Pentagon. In commenting on the issue, the judges remarked that it was a "thorough report on a major reconstruction project...beautifully written...and had a strong impact on industry."

The Construction Writers Association Journalism Awards are presented annually to "individual editors and authors who have distinguished themselves through editorial excellence and achievement in the field of construction journalism and made significant contributions in meeting the construction industry's information needs."

The winner of the Robert F. Boger Award in the category of Special Reports must "demonstrate the writer or editor's analytical and interpretive skills on a subject of particular interest to the publication's readers." Tom certainly did just that.

When asked how he felt about winning this award, Tom had this to say: "To be singled out as best is very humbling when you see the quality of those who were entered.

"In many ways, this award shows that while the World Trade Center got the general press' attention, the Pentagon story has allowed construction companies and workers to exhibit their ability and get the honors that they deserve.

"In this case, I wanted to make the piece the best I could, not to win an award, but to honor the people that I was writing about, those that did what few have done: respond to a crisis in an unselfish way, as a team of equals regardless of their backgrounds, their status or their experience. Apprentices worked alongside journeymen, laborers next to degreed engineers, with one agenda — beat the clock and beat the budget, to show the world no one could stop us. That others in my profession honor me for my words — and Alan Brubaker's [art director at Lionheart Publishing Inc.] layouts and designs — makes me think this one was done well."

Completing an article on a government project can be difficult to accomplish, but Tom's diligence and help from mason contractors, such as Masonry Arts Inc., of Bessemer, Ala., made it all come together.

"Without [the mason contractors], the article would have been a collection of photos from the government," says Tom. "As much as we'd like to think of the Phoenix Project team as a monolithic entity, like every other team, it is comprised of people. I wanted to make the human side of the project as important as the end result, the building. We may be impressed by technology, or awed by huge pieces of equipment on a site but when the day is done, it is the worker who does the job. All construction is the result of people and the human side should never be lost when writing about what goes on in this industry."

This month marks the one-year anniversary of Lionheart Publishing Inc.'s publishing responsibility for the magazine. Mike Adelizzi, Executive Director of MCAA thanked Lionheart Publishing for the tremendous progress Masonry magazine has made over the last year in quality, content and value to MCAA members and the industry as a whole.