Amerimix
CrewTracks
EZ Scaffold Corp.
EZG Manufacturing
Hydro Mobile, Inc.
Loot
Non-Stop Scaffolding
PROSOCO, Inc.
SOLA/Keson
SPEC MIX LLC
Stabila
Westlake Royal Stone Solutions
Find-a-Contractor Masonry Buyer's Guide
April 2002

Coming Together As Contractors

President’s Message

By

I enter as the newly elected president of the Mason Contractors Association of America at a very unique time. My predecessors and especially my immediate past president, did a terrific job of moving the association to an all new level of service to our members and to our industry.

Never before has our association had such influence over the leadership of our industry's growth and its future success. What an exciting challenge it is for me as well as our newly elected Board of Directors to elevate our national association into an all new limelight of leadership. Along with the excitement of this all new challenge of yet again expanding our association's influence comes the trepidation of possibly not measuring up as well as my predecessors.

But I begin my two-year term as president with resources that my predecessors did not have readily available to them at the start of their terms, as I now have at the start of mine. I enjoy what I believe is a closer unification of our industry, especially what seems to be the coming together of our industry's contractor groups under one banner. This was witnessed by the many local contractor associations who answered our call to hold formal association meetings in conjunction with our Masonry Showcase. Groups such as the Mason Contractors Association of St. Louis, the Texas Masonry Council, the Michigan Mason Contractors Association, and the California Conference of Mason Contractors all answered our call to meet in Phoenix. Adding to that the conducting of a Masonry Industry Summit meeting where the leadership of our local associations met with the leadership of the MCAA to begin dialogue on how we can work more closely together, to pool resources and ideas so we can act more effectively in not only promoting our industry better, but to answer the inroads of our competitors with a more unified response.

I attended the Summit meeting and I was excited about the spirit of cooperation between the leaders in the room. We left that Summit meeting with a greater desire to share information and resources to benefit everyone in this industry regardless of labor affiliation. And speaking of labor, I was very encouraged about the visit by John Flynn, the President of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsworkers, at our annual meeting. It has been nearly two decades since the president of the IU attended one of our events. And after a private meeting with Mr. Flynn, I can safely say that there is a new spirit of cooperation from the union on working to build a stronger industry. In fact, my predecessor, Mike Johnston noted after Mr. Flynn's address at our annual meeting, that virtually all of the BAC's long term goals mirror those of the MCAA. We hope that the enthusiasm from that meeting can carry over to a growing partnership that will benefit the entire industry. And I believe that John Flynn left that meeting with a better understanding of who the MCAA really is. I believe he sees that, although of our membership is both union and non-union, our association is one that they can partner with to conduct research and promotion for the greater good of the masonry industry. And as my predecessor said in his introduction of John Flynn, as an industry, we no longer have the luxury of fight amongst ourselves in light of some very real and very serious competitors that are trying to eliminate the use of masonry altogether.

In addition to our industry's local associations coming together under the banner of "Where the Industry Meets" and hopefully a more cooperative alliance with the BAC, I step into my term as president with what appears to be a more favorable response from our exhibitors of our Masonry Showcase. Unlike last year's show, I heard a resounding "Good Job!" from our exhibitors who where pleased with this year's show, especially in light of September 11th and a less than enthusiastic show experienced by our competitors at the World of Concrete. I hope that this enthusiasm will carry over to higher exhibit sales for next year's show in Tampa - because it's the exhibit sales that drives many of our association's programs. A good show next year will mean a more active MCAA.

Lastly, I enter my term as president with a board more seasoned in looking to the future and carving out strategies to impact that future. For the past several years, our board meetings have been virtual strategic planning sessions, where the majority of our time is devoted to thinking and acting strategically as an association. I believe this new strategic governance style of board meetings has reinvigorated our association and has caused members to get more involved as witnessed by record attendance at this year's annual meeting. As an association, I believe that we are in great shape to have a tremendous impact on our future. I am looking forward to providing the continuing leadership that my predecessors provided and to continue the growth of influence that we have enjoyed in the past.

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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