One of my goals as a building professional and an advocate for our industry is to do everything I can to help improve educational opportunities for anyone wanting to enter the construction field. Throughout the country, our industry is in crisis mode in terms of having enough highly qualified people available to do construction work. Therefore it was particularly exciting for me to come out to the 5th Annual Caldwell County Masonry Tournament on May 5th at Corrier Tractor of Lenoir and help support those awesome masonry students. I enjoyed helping serve as judge alongside NCHBA 1st vice president Alan Banks and several masonry companies.
Thirty-three students from Hibriten High School, South Caldwell High School and West Caldwell High School participated in the contest sponsored by many local business in Lenoir including the Caldwell County Home Builders Association, and Vision Design Build Remodel. You can get an idea of the large amount of sponsors by viewing the giant banner in the background of the winners’ picture below. It is awesome to see so many businesses and individuals willing to contribute to the future of the construction industry! The students competed for new tools and over $6,000 in cash prizes donated by sponsoring local businesses. It is very excited to watch these aspiring young tradesmen do so well, year after year. Several masonry companies were in attendance to give out job offers to competing high school seniors.
Contests:
Fasted Mason
Level 1 Masonry project
Level 3 Masonry project
Brick/Block Sawing
Mason Tender (Laboring, brick carry, stacking, scaffolding, and mortar mixing)
See some of the highlights below and check out our Facebook page for more great photos.
