Masonry Magazine February 1984 Page. 5
84 MCAA CONFERENCE REPORT
New Orleans, Louisiana, January 26-31, 1984
A strong and well-attended Pre-Conference Seminar, coupled with an outstanding slate of speakers during the regular business sessions, help to boost MCAA's 34th International Masonry Conference and Trade Show into an extraordinary educational experience for mason contractors and their personnel.
The pleasant, spring-like weather that permeated New Orleans from January 26 to 31 put smiles on the faces of the American and Canadian conferees alike. Everyone agreed they were happy to be where they were. And the excellent accommodations at the Hyatt Regency Hotel didn't hurt a bit, either.
The Pre-Conference Seminars (January 26-27) seemed to set the spirited pace and mood of the Conference that was to follow, starting on Saturday, the 28th. Three topics were offered over the two-day stretch:
* "Masonry Panel Anchoring Systems," coordinated by J. Gregg Borchelt, P.E., executive director, Masonry Institute of Houston/Galveston.
* "Masonry Systems Marketing." coordinated by Richard Felice, MCAA regional vice president, Des Moines, la., and Jim Cope, president, Morgen Manufacturing Co., Yankton, S.D.
* "Masonry Estimating for a Profit," presented by construction consultant Jerry Pope, Greeley, Colo.
The segment on Masonry Panel Anchoring Systems featured six speakers, all knowledgeable men with years of experience in masonry construction projects:
* Larry Griffis, P.E., senior vice president. Walter Moore & Associates, Houston, Texas.
* A. A. Sakhonovsky, president, Construction Research Laboratory, Miami, Fla.
* Buck Richardson, P.E., director of engineering. Dee Brown Masonry, Inc., Dallas, Texas.
* Eugene George, MCAA past president and president of George & Assmussen Ltd., Kitchener, Ont., Canada.
* John Klaric. P.E., John Klaric Contracting Co., St. Louis, Mo.
* William Binnings, Continental Marble & Granite Co., Gretna, La.
Their presentations, most of which were accompanied by color slides, drew enthusiastic responses from the attendees who asked questions and related their own experiences with panel systems. The comments from them and the speakers covered a wide area of subjects, ranging from anchoring, grouting and sealants to fabrication, installation and dealing with foreign stone suppliers.
The panel systems covered in the presentations included brick and thin granite, marble and limestone as well as metal, glass and precast concrete. Examples of good and bad design were graphically detailed in the color slides.
The session on "Masonry Systems Marketing" also prompted active and lively participation from the audience, which heard six speakers who covered a wide range of marketing topics reinforced by slide presentations.
Dick Felice and Jim Cope, who are co-chairman of the Masonry Systems Marketing Committee, moderated this segment, delivering the opening and handling the wrap-up.
The panel of speakers included:
* Bill Pautler, executive director, Masonry Institute of St. Louis.
* Norb Hynek, executive vice president. Masonry Institute of Wisconsin.
* Howard Noziska, P.E., executive director, Minnesota Masonry Institute.
* J. Gregg Borchelt, P.E., executive director, Masonry Institute of Houston/Galveston.
* Mark A. Gorkin, an organizational stress management consultant based in New Orleans.
* Jerry Dufour, MCAA vice president, pinch-hitting for John Heslip who had been scheduled as a speaker but was unable to attend due to pressing business in his recently assumed position as executive vice president of the National Concrete Masonry Association.
Masonry Marketing Manual Introduced
Bill Pautler introduced the recently compiled masonry marketing manual titled "Masonry-The Best Building System." The well-illustrated and professionally printed
U.S. Rep. John Erlenborn
MCAA legal counsel George Plumb
NCMA president Paul Lenchuk
MASONRY FEBRUARY, 1984 5