Masonry Showcase ... Take Your Business Further

President’s Message

By William McConnell

As a mason contractor, there is only one show that is designed by mason contractors for the mason contractor and allied organizations and is the one where the industry will be meeting and that's the MCAA Masonry Showcase, March 12-15 in Tampa, Fla.

If you are interested in advancing the masonry industry and working to build your future as a business owner, I urge you to join the Mason Contractors Association of America and one of almost 30 local, masonry associations attending Masonry Showcase.

The Showcase was developed by the Mason Contractors Association of America and is designed with your needs as a mason contractors and business owner in mind. Eighteen educational offerings give you and your key employees a wide range of topics to chose from to improve your productivity. A full range of exhibits offers you the opportunity to see equipment up close and to personally meet with supplier representatives who can assist in building your company's bottom line. More importantly, Showcase offers you the opportunity to personally meet fellow mason contractors, suppliers and allied industry representatives from across the U.S. who share the same goals, frustrations and experiences that you face in running your business.

Personally, that is the one overwhelming reason to go to Tampa in March and attend Masonry Showcase. Everyone I talk to about their experiences at Showcase tell me that meeting and sharing their experiences with fellow contractors helped them immensely when they returned from Showcase. Everyone returns reinvigorated to meet the challenges of running a masonry business for a profit in today's business environment.

It is hardly a secret that our construction economy is uncertain. The construction boom from the last several years is gone and many of you may not think that you can afford to leave your business. The March Masonry Showcase in Tampa offers you the opportunity to mix a well-deserved vacation with the business excuse to take a trip that will actually help your bottom line. If you leave Tampa with one new idea to help your profitability or even with the renewed energy to go home and attack your business with a new vitality, it would be worth the trip.

I have personally attended over fifteen straight MCAA shows, and each time I have learned new ideas that have actually increased my firm's sales and profit that I would not have had if I didn't go to the Showcase. The benefits have been invaluable to me. Oh, there have been times that I questioned spending the money when work has been tight, or even questioned the time I would take away from the business to go to Showcase. But after I went, I was more than glad to have gone. It's hard to express the benefit of talking with fellow contractors from around the country, contractors that I did not compete with at home, with whom I could share my frustrations. It has always amazed me that each time I have been able to gather a new perspective or a renewed enthusiasm for my business. I urge you all to make the trip to Masonry Showcase and invest in yourself and your business. You will be glad that you did.

And I would even suggest that you go one step further and consider investing in some of your key employees and bringing them to Masonry Showcase as well. We all know that it would be impossible to manage our firms without the support and hard work of our key personnel. I urge you to consider bringing them with you as well. As much as we as owners need to sharpen our skills and regain our enthusiasm for our businesses, our key employees need it as well. And a motivated workforce can help our firms immensely.

Enclosed with this month's issue of Masonry Magazine is a full registration brochure, outlining all of the events taking place at Masonry Showcase. Complete the forms and send them to the MCAA or call us at 800-536-2225 to register today. You'll be glad that you did.

Join us for the Masonry Showcase in Tampa and take your business further.

See you in March.