Report of the MCAA Education Committee

Words: Doug Burton, Chuck Nacos, Melvin Hinton, Paul Hoggatt, Mike Huskisson, Dick PorterAs Chairman of the MCAA Education Committee, I would like to submit the following report to the Board outlining the committee’s activities since the mid-year meeting in Boston, MA. But before I progress, I would like to recognize the members of the committee. They are: Paul Hoggatt, Melvin Hinton, Doug Burton, Dick Porter, Chuck Nacos and Mike Huskisson.

The Education Committee has had a very busy six months since we last reported.

Testing Seminar
The committee has developed a new seminar designed to teach contractors and their employees how to prevent their projects from being delayed and falsely diagnosed as having structural problems. To date there have been four seminars run, and the last two have picked up momentum. Each of the last two seminars had 10 or more attendees. The program is a full day and is held in the Chicago area at the Robert L. Nelson Testing Lab. The morning is spent reviewing standards and regulations regarding the testing process and the afternoon is a hands-on demonstration period where testing procedures are reviewed. The course has had great reviews.

Foreman Development
The foreman development course was cancelled at this year’s convention due to a lack of registration early on. After it was cancelled, we had a large interest from potential attendees. The MCAA intends to offer this course as a part of an overall seminar series for the next budget year.

MQI
There has been discussion to update and offer the Masonry Quality Institute as a part of the new seminar series. Negotiations are currently in the process with the original developers to update the program and offer several courses throughout the country in differing cities.

Safety Software
There will be a new safety software program available to contractors this summer that is masonry specific. The MCAA has negotiated a deal with the former producer of the MCAA Safety Software to re-develop the software to be masonry specific. The MCAA will be the only organization offering a masonry specific software. The producer is also the new provider of the Safety Library information on the MCAA member’s only section. The MCAA intends to cross sell the program in this section of the member’s only web-site.

Resource Catalog
The MCAA Resource Catalog is scheduled to be delivered in the May issue of Masonry Magazine. The Catalog is very light on advertising this year, but we are hopeful that it will give publication sales a nice boost as it typically does when it is distributed.

Mr. President, officers, and MCAA members thank you for the privilege of serving as the Chairman of the MCAA Education Committee. This is my report.

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