Amerimix
CrewTracks
EZ Scaffold Corp.
EZG Manufacturing
Hydro Mobile, Inc.
Loot
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PROSOCO, Inc.
SOLA/Keson
SPEC MIX LLC
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Westlake Royal Stone Solutions
Find-a-Contractor Masonry Buyer's Guide
February 2007

Advancing Masonry in a Global Economy

2007 Report of the President

By

Each year, the President of the Mason Contractors Association of America stands before the membership during the Annual Convention and reports on the activities and progress of the association.

For the past decade, I have listened to my predecessors and marveled at how much our association has progressed as a force for change in our industry. I have privately wondered how our association could continue to expand our programs and services for our industry’s contractors at such a rapid pace while I was president. Yet, this year I stand before you to present my very first State of the Association address and I am proud to report that our association has continued to grow at a remarkable pace this past year again.

The MCAA is the national association that represents the interests of all of our industry’s contractors. This past year, we looked beyond our boarders to think globally and work with our contractor friends in Canada and Australia. Our mission statement is simply stated: To Advance the Masonry Industry. I believe that as an association, we took some major steps to achieve our mission as we take a broader view of the issues that face us.

2007 State of the Association.
2007 State of the Association.

During our Midyear Meeting, our board approved two major initiatives that will enable the MCAA to better service our members and the interests of masonry customers. First we approved the establishment of a national fund that will be used to educate the design professionals both at the academic and practitioner levels on the benefits of building with total masonry (systems) on their construction projects. This new national fund will enable the MCAA to achieve one of our major goals of maintaining, developing and expanding the industry’s market share. We believe that the contractors have a unique ability to promote masonry and masonry systems unlike our friends in the supply side of our industry. We believe that the lack of a strong contractor presence in the promotion of masonry has hurt our industry’s ability to grow. Therefore, it is incumbent as the MCAA to ask our members to support this major initiative to expand our markets and the use of masonry materials.

The second major initiative and probably one of the most significant programs our industry has ever engaged in is the certification of our industry’s mason contractors. For the past two years, we have listened to pleas from manufacturers of masonry materials to improve the quality of our workforce. We have listened to complaints from architects, owners, government officials and others about the poor quality of the masonry work. We strongly believe that a certification program will play a major role in our ability to hold on to the markets we still have and is vital to our desire to recapture the markets that we have lost. For too long, good contractors have had to watch as quality projects went to less qualified contractors, because of price. We believe that a comprehensive certification program gives our industry the opportunity to market quality masonry construction by certifying our contractors and promoting those certified contractors to construction customers. We also believe that all of our members have the ability to achieve and earn certification with effort and determination. The program that we have developed and introduced is both achievable and affordable and we look forward to all of the industry’s contractors striving to become certified.

With the push for certification comes the demand for education. The Association has already ramped up our effort to provide educational outlets throughout the country by offering our seminars and workshops nationally. We have offered more Foreman Development Classes, more Estimating Seminars and Wall Bracing Workshops and our members have flocked to these classes like never before. In addition, the MCAA has brought back our Masonry Quality Institute. MQI is a two day class that provides contractors the tools to change the culture of their company from one of mistakes, problems and increasing costs to one of meeting the customer’s requirements with a staff of dedicated and committed employees who work each day to do the job right the first time.

Over the past year I have watched as the Association’s reputation and presence in Washington has increased significantly. Our Washington staff was involved in and played an integral part in negotiations on Pension Reform, Immigration, Death Tax Reform and Small Business Health Plans. I continue to be impressed by the tenacity and enthusiasm our staff portrays when advocating on behalf of our members. I have truly seen our credibility and effectiveness as an association, reach new heights this past year.

It is my feeling that MCAA is THE Association representing Mason Contractors in our Nation’s Capitol. I have witnessed first hand the hard work of our staff in D.C. when I attended a ceremony with our Director of Government Affairs Jessica Johnson Bennett, in which President Bush signed legislation into law which provided an overhaul for the Nation’s Pension system, the largest overhaul since the passage of ERISA in the 1970’s. In addition to this ceremony our staff also attended a signing ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House at which President Bush signed into law the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, which extends the tax cut package and provides tax relief for Small Businesses.

The Association’s relationship with OSHA was all important during the past year as MCAA worked on a number of regulatory issues facing the masonry industry, such as Silica and DHS No Match Letters. We have continued to work with OSHA and the Department of Labor to undertake greater efforts to enforce the existing exposure standard through outreach, research, education, and compliance assistance. In the spring of 2006 MCAA met with officials at OSHA to deliver the Silica Best Practices Document for review. We received positive feedback from OSHA and will continue to work with OSHA staff to insure that the best interests of our contractors are protected by using sound science and a transparent process.

On August 21st, 2006, I along with our Executive Director Mike Adelizzi and our Director of Government Affairs, met with Occupational Safety and Health Secretary (OSHA) where we extended the OSHA Alliance between our organizations for 2 more years.

In 2006, we very successfully co-hosted the 2nd Masonry Industry Legislative Conference, together with the National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA), the Brick Industry Association (BIA), and the Building Stone Institute (BSI). The 2006 conference was extremely successful and we will be hosting our 3rd Annual Legislative Conference this year in May.

I am also pleased to report that our Political Action Committee MAC PAC has experienced its most successful year ever. In December MAC PAC unveiled a new MAC PAC brochure which was distributed to our entire membership. The new brochure is a testament to the enthusiasm and aggressiveness of our political and legislative efforts.

In addition in 2006 MAC PAC has become more involved with fundraising efforts by co-hosting several fundraisers for candidates from across the country.

Our ability as an association to communicate to both customers and contractors grew significantly this past year. Our website went through a major revision which resulted in a very professional site that is clean, informative and engaging. New information and features are published daily, drawing the interest of a growing audience. The goal of our web site is to become a focal point for our industry. With 65,000 hits per day from over 2,000 visitors in 75 countries, we believe we are achieving that goal. In addition to our new website, our Masonry magazine continues to progress with its growing professionalism and strength as the premier publication of our industry. Masonry magazine’s website is yet another way for the Association to communicate with the world.

Every president before me has stood before the membership to report on the activities of the association and to challenge the MCAA to achieve new heights of service. I believe that our challenge is most eloquently vocalized by our friend, architect Chris Huckabee, who encourages our contractors to fight for every construction project. Resist every effort by our competitors to discredit masonry materials and to win a greater share of the construction pie. As an association, we have taken that task seriously. Our Board has asked our members to increase their dues to help fund a national program to promote and educate the design community on the benefits of using total masonry construction. Our association will be administering promotional programs targeted to the design community both at the academic level as well as to practitioners.

I believe that the bar has been set for us. I also believe that we have placed in motion, the ability for the MCAA to be a motivating force to achieve just that.

It’s now up to the association to deliver. Thank you for listening.

Chairman’s Message Archive

The American Dream

August 2019
The American Dream

Doing Our Part

May 2019
Doing Our Part

Preparing for D.C.

April 2019
Preparing for D.C.

Recent Updates

September 2018
Recent Updates

Masonry’s Future

August 2018
Masonry’s Future

Worthwhile Work

June 2018
Worthwhile Work

A New Beginning

February 2018
A New Beginning

Givers Gain

January 2018
Givers Gain

Things to Remember

March 2017
Things to Remember

Looking Forward

February 2017
Looking Forward

A Fresh Start

January 2017
A Fresh Start

Who Moved My Cheese?

September 2016
Who Moved My Cheese?

Giving back

December 2015
Giving back

An exciting year ahead

February 2015
An exciting year ahead

Defining success

December 2014
Defining success

Staying busy for you

August 2014
Staying busy for you

Ready for action

February 2014
Ready for action

Thanks

January 2014
Thanks

Happy holidays

December 2013
Happy holidays

MCAA Midyear update

November 2013
MCAA Midyear update

The MCAA in D.C.

August 2013
The MCAA in D.C.

A Lot Happening

July 2013
A Lot Happening

Eye opening

June 2013
Eye opening

Positive movement

March 2013
Positive movement

Headed to Vegas

February 2013
Headed to Vegas

New beginning

January 2013
New beginning

It’s finally over

December 2012
It’s finally over

My trip to the Rockies

November 2012
My trip to the Rockies

The 2012 election

October 2012
The 2012 election

Stay involved

September 2012
Stay involved

Networking

August 2012
Networking

Summer time

July 2012
Summer time

Exciting time

June 2012
Exciting time

Working for you

May 2012
Working for you

New beginnings

March 2012
New beginnings

Farewell!

February 2012
Farewell!

One more to go!

January 2012
One more to go!

Join us in Vegas

November 2011
Join us in Vegas

As the world turns

August 2011
As the world turns

A Bright Future

May 2011
A Bright Future

Tidbits From MCAA

March 2011
Tidbits From MCAA

Time Flies By

February 2011
Time Flies By

The End of the Year

December 2010
The End of the Year

Busy Times!

November 2010
Busy Times!

South of 40

October 2010
South of 40

What Are We Doing?

August 2010
What Are We Doing?

Moving Forward

March 2010
Moving Forward

A Fond Farewell

February 2010
A Fond Farewell

A New Year

January 2010
A New Year

Start the Year Strong

December 2009
Start the Year Strong

MCAA in D.C.

September 2009
MCAA in D.C.

Brick Voids

August 2009
Brick Voids

Vision 2020

February 2009
Vision 2020

State of the Association

February 2009
State of the Association

The Silver Lining

January 2009
The Silver Lining

Impact on the Hill

June 2008
Impact on the Hill

New Horizons

February 2008
New Horizons

Wrapping up Another Year

December 2007
Wrapping up Another Year

Greetings From Italy!

November 2007
Greetings From Italy!

We Need Your Help!

January 2005
We Need Your Help!

The Strength of Unity

November 2003
The Strength of Unity

Changing of the Guard

February 2002
Changing of the Guard

“The amount of information that is at your finger tips is unbelievable.”

Richard Felice
Forrest & Associate, Inc.
MCAA member since 1963

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