NCMCA Annual Samuel A. McGee Memorial Apprentice Masonry Skills Contest
Words: Lynn NashA masonry apprentice from Huntley Brothers Company in Mint Hill is the Champion of the 2022 North Carolina Masonry Contractors Association (NCMCA) Annual Samuel A. McGee Masonry Apprentice Masonry Skills Contest. Twenty-year old Christian Kluttz of Mount Pleasant took home a significant cash prize, a truckload of new tools and the prestigious “David R. Sigmon Award.” Kluttz was among fifty apprentices from thirteen NCMCA member firms participating in the contest hosted by Adams, an Oldcastle® company at their Colfax facility on May 21st.
Rounding out the top ten: Second Place finisher Cade Huntley, Huntley Brothers Company; Third Place finisher Colson Childers, Griffin Masonry; Fourth Place finisher Mason Saunders, Huntley Brothers Company; Fifth Place finisher Cam Hill, McGee Brothers Company; sixth through tenth place in consecutive order, Grant Haney and Carter McGee, McGee Brothers Company; Leonard O'Connor, Harrington Masonry; Avina Rodriguez, Manning Masonry; and in tenth place, Joshua Queen, McGee Brothers Company.
Contestants had two hours to
construct a predetermined panel project, afterwards judged by a team of
journeyman masons for plumb, level, production, correct design, range and other
criteria. The two-hour time limit makes
the Sam McGee among the most challenging apprentice masonry competitions in the
country. Most competitions allow at
least three hours to build similar projects.
Scores ranged from 13 to 21 for the
top-ten. (Scoring is based on
“deductions” so low score wins.) A three-way
tie at the top was settled with “plumb” scores as the tiebreaker.
New Champion, Christian Kluttz, is
the son of Kima and David Kluttz. His
interests outside of work are doing side jobs on the weekend and working out at
the gym. Christian says, “Previous
national masonry champion Daniel Furr, who was like a second brother to me
growing up, is the sole reason I got into masonry in the first place because he
made it look so cool. My hope for the
future is to run a crew for Huntley Brothers.”
Christian says his favorite quote
is from Proverbs 14:23: “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads
only to poverty.”
Kent Huntley of Huntley Brothers
Company, himself a previous winner of the contest (1986), says, “Christian
works with Rex Huntley’s crew and does an excellent job for us, in addition to having tremendous (passion)
for masonry.”
The annual contest is named in
memory of Sam McGee. Samuel Alexander
McGee (1939-2015) was cofounder and President of McGee Brothers Company in
Monroe. Recognized as an innovator in
the industry, Sam was inducted into the Masonry Contractors Association of
America “Hall-of-Fame” in 2014. He was
inducted into the National Masonry Instructors Association “Hall-of-Fame” in
2012 and was among the first individuals to earn the designation “Certified
Masonry Executive” in the NCMCA Masonry Contractor Certification Program. He had a passion for the masonry industry and
for encouraging and teaching young people craft skills, especially masonry.
The apprentice that finishes with
the top score in the contest is presented the “David R. Sigmon Award” as first
place finisher of the annual event. The
award is named in memory of David Sigmon, a journeyman mason from Hickory who
passed away in 1998 while serving as NCMCA president-elect, and who had been
active in promoting this contest and other programs around the state to recruit
and develop young craftsmen for masonry careers.
The 2023 Samuel A. McGee Memorial
Masonry Apprentice Skills Competition is set for Saturday May 20, 2023 in
Kinston co-hosted by The NCMCA Eastern Carolina Chapter and EastWest Products.
The North Carolina Masonry
Contractors Association has some 150 member firms across the Carolinas. NCMCA promotes masonry as a great career option and as the building material
of choice.
For Additional Information: Ryan Shaver (704) 791-5240 : ryan.shaver@ncmca.com : www.ncmca.com