Craftsmanship on Display at Masonry Showcase

Words: Dan KamysThe sixth annual International Masonry Skills Challenge at Masonry Showcase in Chicago showed off the best apprentices our industry has to offer. Twenty-one contestants from across the country came to compete in first, second, and third year skill levels. This year's designs were both innovative and difficult, as they incorporated products such as stone and cast stone.

The final projects looked great, and the apprentices should be very proud of their three hours of hard work. The judges were very impressed with the quality of the apprentices' construction, and were tasked with the tough decision of choosing the winners. Here are the results:


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Thomas Sautkus
First Year Apprentices
1st place: Thomas Sautkus
District Council Training Center, Addison, Illinois

2nd place: Brian Legarth
F&R Masonry, Valley View, Ohio

3rd place: Chad Galloway
Galloway's Masonry, Conyers, Georgia


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Troy Holmes
Second Year Apprentices
1st place: Troy Holmes
Foti Construction, Cleveland, Ohio

2nd place: Christopher Kowalczyk
District Council Training Center, Addison, Illinois

3rd place: Juan Capetillo
DMG, Arlington, Texas


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John Nero
Third Year Apprentices
1st place: John Nero
F, B & S Masonry, Stow, Ohio

2nd place: Chris Pruitt
Masonry Specialist, Chattanooga, Tennessee

3rd place: Jaime Salas
Brodie Contractors, Raleigh, North Carolina


MCAA would like to thank the judges from across the country for the donation of their expertise, and we would thank the sponsors and materials donors for their contributions.

Contest sponsors: ACCI, Building Stone Institute, County Materials, Fraco, ICS Blount, Lafarge North America, MK Diamond Products, Multiquip, Non-Stop Scaffolding, Quikrete, and Spec Mix.

Materials contributed by: ACCI, BIA, Buechel Stone, EZ Grout, Gatorback, Glen Gery Brick, Illinois Brick, Marshalltown, Northfield Block, and Quikrete.

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