Israel Burgarin of Columbus Career & College Academy is the 2023 Champion of the North Carolina SkillsUSA State Conference Masonry Competition held in April at the Greensboro Coliseum.  Pictured, top, left to right, NCMCA Executive Vice President Ryan Shaver; NCMCA President-Elect and Apprenticeship & Training Committee Chair Cliff McGee; Fifth Place Finisher Mason Ridenhour, East Rowan High School; Third Place O’Connor Leonard, West Rowan High School; new champion Israel Burgarin; Second Place Warren Jones, Jesse Carson High School; Leslie Maldonado, Fourth Place, Columbus Career & College Academy; Zair Perez Mora, Eighth Place, Central Cabarrus High School; NCMCA Past President Kent Huntley; and NCMCA President Bo Black.  Bottom row, left to right, Nicholas Sloop, Ninth Place, West Rowan High School; Colby Kirkland, Sixth Place, West Stanly High School; Tyriq Freeman, Tenth Place, Central Cabarrus High School; and Dylan Smith, Seventh Place, West Rowan High School.  Not pictured, Annayeli Dionisio won First Place in the Post-Secondary division and Abril Baza placed first in the Masonry Level One competition, both of Columbus Career & College Academy instructed by Fred Mason.  NCMCA’s Ryan Shaver says, “(Israel and Annayeli are) Fred Mason’s first state champions and Fred has been teaching for eleven years.  Fred said that the first contest he went to eleven years ago, his student competed in Masonry 1, where there were 28 contestants.  Fred’s student finished 26 out of 28 and that set him on a path to work hard with his students so that his program would be at the top one day. That day happened on April 19th, and Fred’s students won Masonry 1, Masonry Secondary and Masonry Post-Secondary.  Congratulations to Fred and his students!” Israel Burgarin and Annayeli Dionisio will represent North Carolina at the SkillsUSA National Masonry Championship competition in June at Atlanta. Photo by Jodi Helms

In March, Adams/Oldcastle and the NCMCA Eastern Carolina Chapter hosted the Annual Lineburner and Top Trowel competition in Goldsboro.   Pictured left to right, winners of the Masonry 2 “Top Trowel” competition: Fifth Place, Gaby Key, Columbus Career & College Academy; Fourth Place, Kris Nelson, White Oak High School; First Place, Israel Bugarin, Columbus Career & College Academy, who also finished first in the Lineburner competition; Second Place, Leslie Maldonado, Columbus Career & College Academy; and Third Place, Madison Newton, Pender High School. Michael Roberts of Jones Senior High School placed first in the Masonry One competition.  Columbus Career & College Academy won the “Team Award” for overall best school performance.  2023 marks the 41^st year Adams/Oldcastle has hosted the high school masonry competition. Photograph by Jodi Helms

In February Chandler Concrete in Salisbury hosted as seventy masonry students from twelve high schools participated in the SkillsUSA North Carolina Southwest Regional Masonry Competition.  Pictured, winners of the Masonry II contest left to right, Third Place finisher Nicholas Sloop and First Place finisher O’Connor Leonard both of West Rowan High School, and Second Place finisher Israel Burgrain of Columbus College & Career Academy.  Not pictured, Fourth Place Finisher Mason Ridenhour of East Rowan High School and Fifth Place Finisher Colby Kirkland of West Stanly High School.  In the Masonry I competition, Khalib Kennedy of Columbus College and Career Academy finished in first place followed by Gavin Burris of North Stanly High School and Abril Baza of Columbus College and Career Academy respectively.  Dylan Smith of West Rowan High School finished in First Place for the Johnson Concrete Products Blocklaying Contest followed by Brandon Cole of North Stanly High School and Ben Grubbs of Carson High School respectively.  The team of William Chesney and Jared Bonds of East Rowan High School won the Tender Competition.  The Columbus College and Career Academy team of Ryleigh Pitman and Jaden Pope finish second and the team of James Whitely and Bowin Huntley of West Stanly High School finished third.  Photo by Jodi Helms

Masonry instructor, NCMCA member, and past president of the North Carolina Masonry Instructors Association, Rodney Harrington (right,) is “Career & Technical Instruction (CTE) Teacher of the Year” at West Rowan High School.  Harrington’s masonry students have won numerous awards including National SkillsUSA Masonry Championships awarded to Luke Dutton (2015,) Ashton White (2018 and 2019,) Grant Helms (2019, pictured left,) and Anderson Pruett (2022.)  In addition to producing champions, Harrington has excelled in introducing young people to successful construction careers.  Photo by Beth Harrington

In January, Donnie Williams (pictured) of DRP Masonry, Monroe, Louisiana, joined Tom Vacala of Restore Masonry, Chicago, and Jameel Ervin of W.B.F. Construction, Evergreen Park, Illinois, to present the Mason Contractors Association of America’s “Foreman Development Course #101” in Greensboro at McGee Brothers Company for NCMCA participants.  The January session was the first in a series of workshops planned for masonry field personnel through 2023.  Experienced NCMCA members will instruct the rest of the planned classes.  Photo by Jodi Helms.

At the February meeting of the Raleigh Chapter, left to right, Joshua Ibarra, Brodie Contractors, and David Bass, Whitman Masonry, were recognized with Mortar Net Solutions apprentice scholarships; David Moser, Concept Masonry, and Bill Marsh, Hydro Rents Carolina, received NCMCA Masonry Contractor Certification Program “Certified Masonry Professional” certificates; Martin Sandoval, Pinnacle Masonry, was also recognized for a Mortar Net Solutions apprentice scholarship; and Jake Burton, Pinnacle Masonry, received his certificate for completing “Certified Masonry Executive” requirements in the NCMCA certification program.  Doug Burton, NCMCA Eastern Regional Vice President and Certification Program Board of Governors Chairman, is pictured far right.  Photo by Chris Mitchell.

Christian Kluttz (left,) an apprentice with Huntley Brothers Company of Mint Hill, is the winner of the 2023 Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA) Masonry Skills Challenge, Third Year Division, held at the Las Vegas World of Concrete in January.  He is pictured with Chet Huntley of Huntley Brothers Company.  Kluttz, a former Mount Pleasant High School masonry student, won the right to represent North Carolina in the Skills Challenge by winning the May 2022 NCMCA Annual Samuel A. McGee Masonry Apprentice Skills Contest.  Finishing in second place in the third-year division was Garrick Manning of Columbus, Ohio followed by Douglas Stamper of Merrillville, Indiana in third place.  Melvin Marroquin of Warren, Michigan won the first-year division and Ryan Newton of St. Louis won the second-year division in the MCAA Skills Challenge.  At Las Vegas, Kluttz also won the SPEC MIX Jr. Bricklayer competition.  Christian Kluttz lives in Mount Pleasant and is the son of Kima and David Kluttz.   Photo by Jodi Helms

The team of, left to right, Konner Klingenberg, Jimmy Wall, Doug Burton, and Drew Burton are the winners of the three-day Twenty-Third Annual NCMCA Raleigh Chapter “Murdell” Golf Tournament held in January along the Grand Strand of South Carolina.  Event Chairman Doug Burton says, “Twenty-third trip for us to Murdell and we have raised (more than) $112,000 which has, or is, all going to masonry promotions.  Good event, good cause, low overhead.”  Sponsors include Tucker Kirby Company, Brodie Contractors, P&D Architectural Precast, Reed & Crocker, LLC, Custom Brick & Supply, Fay Block Materials, Frank Werner, Gates Construction Company, Hydro Rents Carolina, Jeb Burton, Johnson Concrete Products, Lafarge Holcim, Palmetto Brick Company, Pinnacle Masonry, Scaffold Mart, SPEC MIX, and Whitman Masonry.  There were forty-six participants.  2023 marks the thirty-fourth year for the Raleigh annual golf tournament. Photo courtesy of the Raleigh Chapter