Masonry Magazine April 1998 Page. 14

Words: Jack Lynch, Chris Storey, Douglas Burton, John Smith, Doug Nichols, Ronnie Thompson, Kealey Eckman, Robert Greer, Kenneth Baum
Masonry Magazine April 1998 Page. 14

Masonry Magazine April 1998 Page. 14
Kealey Eckman
Calvert Masonry
Brookeville, MD

Kealey Eckman has been a mentor to many apprentices and taught them the best way to do the job. What makes Kealey so unique is that he is not a mason contractor. As a field superintendent for Calvert Masonry, he deeply believes in the trade that has been good to him and he has brought that enthusiasm to young people who have followed Kealey to the masonry trade.

Robert Greer
L.F. Jennings, Inc.
Falls Church, VA

Rob Greer has been serving as President of the MCA Nation's Capitol chapter for the past year and was instrumental in forming this chapter which incorporated the MCA of Baltimore. Greer has been very active in recruiting and training new masons. He is the Chairman of the Manpower & Training Committee for the chapter and also serves and is a member of the Craftsmanship Review Committee. He has started apprenticeship programs in both Virginia and Maryland and has even become a certified masonry instructor. He was the recipient of the Directors Award given by the Masonry Institute to a local individual who has contributed the most to the masonry industry. Greer also serves as a Board member of the Masonry Institute of Washington, D.C.

Kenneth Baum
Otto Baum & Sons, Inc.
Morton, IL

Ken Baum's long time involvement in the masonry industry is distinguished in the areas of promotion and training. He has served as a trustee on the Bricklayers Local 13 Joint Apprenticeship Committee for twelve years. He is a Board member of the Central Illinois Masonry Promotion Institute and is currently serving as President of the Central Illinois Mason Contractors Association.

Douglas Burton
Whiteman Masonry, Inc.
Benson, NC

As President of the North Carolina Mason Contractors Association from July 1995 to February of 1998, Burton oversaw more progress for the Association than anytime since its founding in 1974. Burton has been a driving force in apprenticeship training and recruiting in the state. He is currently Chairman of the North Carolina Industry Alliance for Training and has served as a charter member for the past three years. He has served as President of the Raleigh Mason Contractors Association. He has worked successfully to increase NCMCA's membership participation in conducting career days and training masons.

Chris Storey
Southern utherm Masonry Co.
Memphis, TN

Chris Storey has been an innovative leader for the Mason Contractors Association of Memphis. He was instrumental in forming the local association to confront problems and issues facing mason contractors in the area. He helped develop a local employment work shop for potential masons guiding them into careers and positions in the masonry field. He has served as the Secretary of the MCA of Memphis since it re-organized in 1994.

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John Smith, Sr.
John J. Smith Masonry
St. Louis, MO

Few industry leaders have been as involved and dedicated to supporting the growth of the masonry industry as John Smith Sr. He has served for years as Chairman of the Masonry Institute of St. Louis. He has supported the training of over one hundred masons and has been active on the Bricklayer and Apprentice committees for the MCA of St. Louis since 1984. To this day, Smith still gives career presentations to local high schools. He has served as President of the MCA of St. Louis from 1984-1985 and has just completed eight years of service as Regional Vice President for the Mason Contractors Association of America.

Ronnie Thompson
Thompson Masonry
Salem, VA

Ronnie Thompson has deeply immersed himself in developing the industry's workforce. He established the Blue Ridge Masonry Association and its apprenticeship program in south west Virginia and has been serving on the Apprenticeship Committee as its chairman for three years. To date, they are training 34 students in a three-year program. This program has been touted as one of the best programs in the state if not the nation. Thompson also devotes his time to promoting the masonry industry as well as seeking legislative reform, which will benefit the industry.

Jack Lynch
J.A. Lynch Masonry
Buena Park, CA

Jack Lynch currently serves as President of the Orange County Chapter of the California Conference of Mason Contractors of which he served as President twice for the CCMCA. He has served continuously on various committees since he first became active back in 1965. Lynch deeply believes in building the industry's workforce. In fact, J.A. Lynch Masonry is seldom without an apprentice. A notable trait of Lynch is the ability to always ask the tough question, keeping everyone headed in the right direction.

Doug Nichols
Douglas Nichols Enterprises
St Peters, MO

Taking on a major task of spearheading MCAA's Training Program, Doug Nichols is Chairman of the Training Committee which oversees the national association's mason training initiatives. Nichols represents MCAA on the VICA (Vocational Industry Clubs of America) Masonry Committee. Nichols is currently Vice President of the MCA of St. Louis. In addition, he serves on the chapter's Finance Committee as well as on the Joint Apprentice Fund Board in St. Louis. He has also been Chairman of the chapter's Membership Committee. Nichols is deeply committed to recruiting and training more young masons and has even set goals for his own company to train additional masons even if their own company doesn't have a present need.


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