Masonry Magazine December 2004 Page. 41
News
A team of three undergraduate students in N.C. State University Professor of Architecture Pat Rand's Construction System class will share a semester's tuition. The second-, third- and fourth-place teams were awarded a selection of quality masonry craft tools. Students designed and modeled the front wall for a hypothetical masonry office building, "seeking to use masonry in an insightful way." They participated in the project, which was a graded assignment for the class.
The scholarship is named in memory of brothers David and Dwayne Sigmon and Dwayne's son, Randy, all of whom were active in NCMCA before their untimely (but separate) deaths at too early of an age. For more information about NCMCA, please visit www.ncmca.com.
Jaime Salas of Brodie Contractors in Raleigh is the winner of the 51ª Annual North Carolina Department of Labor State Fair Masonry Apprentice Contest held in October. Salas also won the Annual North Carolina Masonry Contractors Association Apprentice Skills Contest in May.
Salas and Dallas Caudle of McGee Brothers tied with 151 points each. the winner selected by a predetermined tiebreaker (Caudle previously won the N.C. SkillsUSA High School Masonry Championship in April and went on to place second in the national SkillsUSA competition in June). Justin Troutman of Heritage Masonry was only one point back with 150. Seventeen apprentices from 12 firms participated.
NCMCA member firms and chapters donated $8,600 in cash, tools and materials for the contest. For more information about NCMCA, please visit www.ncmca.com.
The Washington State Conference of Mason Contractors (WSCMC) has created an award named for one of the primary founders of the conference, Bill Blackstock.
Blackstock was a local mason contractor who so believed in the value of a mason contractors' organization that he left his business to form the WSCMC out of three other organizations the Tacoma, Spokane and Seattle groups. He worked tirelessly as its Executive Director for many years and organized these groups into one strong association to benefit the mason contractors throughout the state. Blackstock was involved in promotion, recruiting of new bricklayers, union negotiations and was not only the moving force and inspiration, but also the glue that kept the members together.
Blackstock has been retired for many years, and the WSCMC wanted to name this special award after him to be given to other outstanding individuals who possess similar characteristics and support for the industry. He was awarded his plaque on Sept. 25, 2004, at the semi-annual meeting of the Conference in Chelan, Wash.
Coincidentally, Monty Fairweather, a second-generation mason contractor, was awarded the Bill Blackstock Award for Outstanding Contribution that night as well. Fairweather has worked tirelessly behind the scenes with the union, the trade school, suppliers and members to broaden the base of the organization. Through his efforts over the last three years, the WSCMC and its new parent, the Washington Trowel Trades Promotion Group, are seeking to double its membership and thus its influence on the masonry industry in Washington state.
The award will not be awarded annually; however, it will be awarded when a person such as Blackstock or Fairweather comes along.
For more information about the WSCMC, please visit www.mason-conf.com.
Note: Please send any local, state or regional news to Jennie Farmsworth at jen@lionhrtpub.com or c/o Lionheart Publishing, Inc., 506 Roswell St, Suite 220, Marietta, Ga. 30060.