Masonry Magazine August 2006 Page. 34
MASONRY AROUND THE NATION
BRICKLAYER RECOGNIZED FOR ALL-STAR PERFORMANCE
DAVID BILDSTIIN, A BRICKLAYER IN ASHTABULA, OHIO, HAS A ONE-IN-FIVE SHOT at becoming this sum-mere next American idol - not for his ability to sing in front of an audience of thousands, but rather for his on-the-job performance as a dedicated, skilled bricklayer. Bildstein is one of five final-ists named in the 2006 American Worker of the Year (AWOTY) Awards, an annual contest in its 15th year, sponsored by Dickies to honor hard-working Americans.
Bricklaying isn't just a job for Bildstein; he says it's his destiny. The 42-year-old comes from a long line of bricklayers and stonemasons 27 generations to be exact. His is also the oldest family in Local 5 Cleveland, where Bildstein has been a household name for more than 118 years.
The AWOTY awards elicited thousands of entries, which were collected online and through the Dickies AWOTY Mobile Tour, presented by the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), which made stops at PBR events, job sites and retailers as it toured the nation. Entrants were asked to make audio recordings or write 100 words or less about why their nominee represents "the spirit of the American worker."
Bildstein's wife, Lisa, nominated him for the award, saying in her essay that, "[David) builds and repairs furnaces at the steel mills all over the country a hazardous job and one few men in his field will attempt... He's filthy, often