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I have adopted a school near my office school and plan to help the instructor to teach masonry.
September 2017

Learning From North Carolina

Chairman’s Message

By

If you remember, in my last article I wrote about the “Skills Gap” we have with kids coming out of high school and not being career ready.

I know the schools in North Carolina are very successful at masonry training in the high schools. So, I asked Lynn Nash, the Executive Director of the North Carolina Masonry Contractors Association (NCMCA) what his secret was so I could copy it here in Arizona. He told me that he wishes he could take credit for it but he didn’t have much to do with it at all. It is actually the mason contractors in his association that have adopted a school near their office and helped that school and instructor to teach masonry. I have been thinking a lot about that the last few months after I had this conversation with Lynn. I decided if they can do it in North Carolina then we can do it here as well. I have adopted a school, West-Mec in Verrado that is near my office. I have met the instructor, visited the facility and provided some additional material and equipment that was needed. Now comes the hard part, helping with the necessary instruction.

My time is very valuable to me but I have committed to him that either me or someone from my company will be there to help with the instruction. They have a morning class and an afternoon class that are each three hours long. Wish me well and I will let you know how it goes. I hope this model can be repeated across the country so we can all give the North Carolina boys some competition at our events but also to train the much needed skills that make these kids career ready!

With our Midyear meetings just completed, I hope everyone had a great time in Steamboat Springs. As I mentioned before, this is where we set the direction of the MCAA for the coming year. We set all our committee goals and they all have a clear path to where we are going and how we will get there. I look forward to hearing reports from the committees on their progress.

A new item we are working on is an on boarding process for mason contractors. We all know there are certain things that need to be taught to our new employees. Some of these items need to be taught before they even set foot on one of our jobsites for the first time. Other items can be added during the course of their employment. To help our members with this process, MCAA is developing a list of videos that new employees can watch and learn from. We have a pretty big list of topics that we would like to provide and are narrowing the list down to what we absolutely have to have first. All the topics will be individual videos that can be selected cafeteria style. Some of the topics we discussed were HAZ Comm, PPE and Silica for beginning topics with many more to follow such as Fall Protection, Scaffold, Power Tools and many more. I’m sure our Safety Committee will do a great job putting these together that we can all take advantage of.

I was very impressed with the emphasis on silica that was in last month’s magazine. As we are all very aware the rule will be enforced later this month. The MCAA has put on over 30 Train the Trainer classes across the country and trained over 700 people that then these trainers went back to your companies and trained your competent people and your employees. I hope we are all ready for this as I know it will be one of the first questions OSHA asks on a jobsite inspection.

It may seem a little early to you but it really isn’t. The MCAA Convention at World of Concrete/World of Masonry isn’t that far away. The officers and staff have been working on this since our last one in January concluded. There is a lot of preparation and planning to do and we have been busy. Mark you calendars for January 21st – 25th in Las Vegas. See you there!

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 MCAA keeps my company competitive with other building materials.”

John Smith
John J. Smith Masonry Company
MCAA member since 1990

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