FIND A CONTRACTOR BUYER'S GUIDE
BECOME AN INDUSTRY PARTNER
MCAA Logo
MEMBER LOGIN JOIN
NEWS
Join Us For The 75th Anniversary Midyear Meeting Sep 7-11 ↗

Competitiors showed their skills at the Top Trowel competition

Words: Lyn OlesonCongratulations to Top Trowel competitors, Jane Frederick High School masonry students in Stockton Unified School District CTE. They showed their skills at the Top Trowel competition at the Fastest Trowel hosted by Baselite Concrete Products in Dixon.

The apprentices start in the dark of the dawn, to build a block wall, 5 course high, within time allowed, to complete their project before judging begins. All MITA students received prizes and tools. Winners got all that and were awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals and prize money.

Top Trowel winners were 1st place Shawn Phang, 2nd place Francisco Dominguez, 3rd place Steven Juarez.

Meanwhile a few yards away, the NorCal Masonry Skills Challenge regional qualifier for apprentices was won by 1st year Apprentice was Anthony Guerrero — a former Jane Frederick High School student trainee, who graduated, joined local BAC3, and is now employed at John D Wait Masonry.

MITA Board of Directors Dale Piwinski, an industry leader and Baselite Concrete Products Sales Manager, along with his Baselite associates put on an amazing event. Hear it first hand from Instructor Tom Miller, who trains students towards jobs.

MITA assists hundreds of students to learn masonry skills each school year from September to June. MITA trainees have accomplished pre-apprenticeship and are seeking work, summer jobs, part-time, and full-time. Classes begin with how to pick up a trowel and get them started. From there, they move on to seek a future career in the masonry field as bricklayers, tenders, mason finishers, and in the whole realm of opportunity such as block salesperson, architect representative, and positions with suppliers and contractors.

See the video at www.trainmason.org.
 0
Vibing Masonry #8: CMU’s Durability and Maintenance Value
September 2025

Heading to Spokane, WA, I found myself riding the airport tram at O’Hare in Chicago. Looking out the window at a part of the 26-year-old International Terminal 5, I spotted a painted structural steel beam in front of a concrete masonry unit (CMU) wall. Th

Steve Blye
Technical Talks
Read More
Keeping it Clean: Lifecycle Maintenance for Manufactured Stone Veneer
September 2025

One of the many benefits of manufactured stone veneer is that it’s a robust, durable product that requires little maintenance over the course of its life span. In fact, its irregularity in shape and color helps hide minor dirt and dust. But like any build

Jeff Tew
Technical Talks
Read More
Government Affairs: Dignity Act Is Back and So Are Our Marching Orders!
September 2025

The Dignity Act is back! Congresswoman Maria Salazar (R-FL) and Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (D-TX) have re-introduced the Dignity Act, their comprehensive border security and immigration law reform legislation and we need to hit the ground running to

Stephen Borg
Legislative
Read More
Marvelous Masonry: Inveraray Castle
September 2025

Inveraray Castle, one of Scotland’s most iconic Gothic Revival structures, rises from the banks of Loch Fyne like a monument to stonework itself. For masonry contractors and material suppliers, the castle serves as a working model of 18th-century craftsma

Cass Stern
Marvelous Masonry
Read More