Masonry Magazine October 2011 Page. 51
SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500
Regional in Seattle
On an unusually sunny Friday, the Western States Masonry Trades hosted the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 at the International Masonry Institute in Seattle. The day was filled with masonry industry professionals from the area, along with vendors and suppliers showing off their latest products. STO Wall Systems and Evergreen Building Materials combined to demonstrate liquid water barriers over CMU with stone veneer installed over it.
Johnson Level was on hand to show off its extensive line of leveling systems. Horizon Ford hauled in a new flatbed work truck to woo the audience.
Ben Griffin of Keystone Masonry in Yelm, Wash., along with his tender Dennis Chessie swept the top honors at the 2011 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 Seattle Regional. He lay 424 bricks in one hour on a 26-foot-long, double-wythe wall with enough precision that he didn't have any quality penalties, earning him the craftsmanship award amongst a group of 10 highly skilled western Washington masons. His speed and craftsmanship bought him cash and prizes along with a trip to Las Vegas to compete in the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 National Competition at the World of Concrete/World of
WHO IS THE WORLD'S BEST BRICKLAYER?
Masonry in January. There, he will compete against 20 other masons from the United States, Canada, Germany and Australia for the chance to be crowned the World's Best Bricklayer and drive away in a 2012 Ford F250 XLT 4x4 Truck.
Second place was awarded to Bricklayer Mark Earwood and his tender, Kenny Fairweather of Fairweather Masonry. Garret Shafer and his tender, Alex Robledo of R&D Masonry, finished with third-place honors.
2011 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 Regional Schedule
SPEC MIX has released the 2011 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 Regional Schedule. The schedule includes regional host contact information for all masonry competitors interested in applying to the competition. Established to showcase the skill and craftsmanship of professional masons, the general description of the bricklaying competition is as follows: Each team consists of a mason and a mason tender, and a defined work area. The 2012 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 National will be held at the Masonry Construction's Challenge arena during the 2012 World of Concrete/World of Masonry trade show and is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 25, 2012. For more information, visit www.specmixbricklayer500.com.
500 Regional - Ohio
Aug. 6, 2011, 10 a.m.; QUIKRETE Cleveland-2693 Lake Rockwell-Ravenna, OH
500 Regional - Washington
Aug. 12, 2011, 11 a.m.; International Masonry Institute-Washington-6737 Corson Ave S, Seattle-WA
500 Regional - Chicago
Aug. 26, 2011, 11 a.m.; Packaged Concrete Inc. - 15950 South Lorang Rd. Elburn, IL
500 Regional - Utah
Aug. 26, 2011, 11 a.m.; QUIKRETE Utah - 550 West 33rd South, Salt Lake City, UT
500 Regional - Tennessee
Sept. 17, 2011, 11 a.m.; Gray Tennessee Fairgrounds - 100 Lakeview St.Gray, TN
500 Regional - Colorado
Sept. 17, 2011, 11 a.m.; QUIKRETE Denver-2660 West 64th Ave. - Denver, CO
500 Regional - Wisconsin
Sept. 23, 2011, noon; United Brick and Tile, 5402 Lien Road-Madison, WI
500 Regional - lowa
Sept. 30, 2011, 11 a.m.; Kirkwood Community College-6301 Kirkwood Boulevard - Cedar Rapids, IA
500 Regional - Arizona
Oct. 8, 2011, 11 a.m.; Phoenix Brick-1814 South 7th Ave., Phoenix, AZ
500 Regional - North & South Carolina
Oct. 8, 2011, 11 a.m.; QUIKRETE North Carolina - Highway 74 West-Peachland, NC
500 Regional - Tulsa, Oklahoma
Oct. 13, 2011, 11 a.m.; Tulsa Technology Center - 3420 South Memorial Drive - Tulsa, OK
500 Regional - Florida
Oct. 21, 2011, 11 a.m.; QUIKRETE Lakeland-4230 Maine Avenue-Lakeland, FL
500 Regional - Northern California
Oct. 22, 2011, 11 a.m.; QUIKRETE Sacramento-7705 Wilbur Way-Sacramento, CA
500 Regional - Kitchener, Ontario
Nov. 1, 2011, 5 p.m.; Conestoga College - 108 University Avenue East-Waterloo, Ontario
500 Regional - Calgary, Alberta
Nov. 4. 2011, 11 a.m.; Southern Alberta Institute of Technology-1301 16th Ave. NW -Calgary, AB
500 Regional - Alabama
Νον. 4, 2011, 11 a.m.; Wilcutt Block & Supply Co., Inc. - Kicker Rd. Tuscaloosa, AL
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October 2011
MASONRY 49