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The Gary Joyner Masonry Scholarship: Investing In The Future



The North Carolina Masonry Contractors Association (NCMCA) Eastern Chapter has launched the Gary Joyner Masonry Scholarship at Pitt Community College in Greenville, North Carolina. The annual award honors one of the trade's most influential figures while opening a new pathway for young people to discover careers in masonry.

The scholarship will be awarded each year to one student who has either shown exemplary skill in Pitt Community College's masonry techniques and bricklaying class or who is enrolled in the school's building construction, architectural design technologies, or construction management degree programs and has demonstrated genuine interest in pursuing a career in the masonry industry.

For NCMCA Eastern Chapter members, the choice of namesake required no debate. Gary Joyner founded Joyner Masonry in 1978 and built it into a fixture of the trade in eastern North Carolina before passing the company to his son, Chris. He has served the industry at every level since, on the boards of NCMCA and MCAA, as a champion and early architect of the Masonry Foundation, and as a mentor to a generation of leaders coming up behind him. He was inducted into the Masonry Hall of Fame in recognition of those decades of service. As chair of the Foundation's fundraising effort, Joyner earned the affectionate nickname "Junkyard Dog" for his willingness to make the ask. Under his leadership, the Foundation hit its initial $5 million goal.

"It just seemed like a no-brainer and really a win-win for our entire industry," said Tim Manning, President of Manning Masonry, Inc. and President of NCMCA, who helped spearhead the effort. "First and foremost, it's putting masonry out there and getting some interest in our industry. But to be able to honor Gary Joyner and his legacy at the same time was the whole reason we did this."

The Eastern Chapter raised the funds and built the program from the ground up, working closely with Pitt Community College's Construction Industrial Technologies (CIT) program. The chapter coordinated with deans, department chairs, and faculty to develop the criteria and ensure the award would meaningfully connect students with opportunities in the trade.

"Organizing the scholarship and coordinating with those folks really opened the door to have some conversations about the lack of exposure to masonry that there currently is," Manning said. "The scholarship serves as a conduit and really a red carpet for our industry to get in front of prospective young folks. It's opening the door for us to get into their classroom and talk to them about the opportunities here."

For Manning, the project carries personal weight. Joyner has been a mentor throughout his career, and the chance to organize a thank you of this scale meant something beyond the professional. "On a personal level, it really is a tremendous honor to have been a part of organizing an effort to say thank you to him," Manning said.



A Different Pipeline
The scholarship reflects a shift in how parts of the industry are thinking about workforce development. North Carolina has long been a leader in secondary vocational training, building strong high school programs that introduce young people to the building trades. The Eastern Chapter sees the postsecondary level, and community colleges in particular, as another promising place to plant seeds.

"We've got a lot of eggs in the secondary level, the high school vocational track," Manning said. "But we really hope this plants some seeds that we can look at the postsecondary level, particularly the community college level. Perhaps that's a pretty good breeding ground for us to share the message that we've got a viable industry here that needs you, that wants you, that's a wonderful career path."

Pitt Community College sits in the heart of eastern North Carolina, and its CIT program already feeds graduates into building trades across the region. Adding a dedicated masonry scholarship gives the chapter a recurring presence in those classrooms and a tangible reason for students to take a closer look at the trade. The award itself serves as both recognition of student achievement and an entry point for industry conversations that might not otherwise happen.

A Model Worth Replicating
NCMCA leadership hopes the Gary Joyner Masonry Scholarship serves as a template that other regions can adapt. The structure is straightforward. A chapter or local association raises the funds, partners with a community college that already runs construction or technical programs, and creates a recurring award named for someone who has shaped the local trade. The result is a vehicle that honors industry leaders while creating a steady connection to new entrants to the field.

"In 10 years, it would be awesome if we talked about multiple scholarships all across the country that attracted young folks to our industry," Manning said.

The dual purpose is what makes the model work. Honoring an industry veteran is meaningful on its own. So is workforce development. Combining the two gives donors a reason to give, gives chapters a reason to organize, and gives students a connection point to the people who built the trade before them. It also creates a record. Decades from now, recipients of the Gary Joyner Masonry Scholarship will know whose name is on their award and why it matters.

For an industry that depends on knowledge passed from one generation to the next, that kind of continuity is its own form of investment.

The Gary Joyner Masonry Scholarship will be awarded annually at Pitt Community College. NCMCA Eastern Chapter members, prospective donors, and other associations interested in launching similar regional efforts can contact NCMCA for more information.


About: Industry News
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