Hood Wins Title of World’s Best Bricklayer

Garrett Hood took first place in the 2008 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500®

By Jeff Farmakes

Mason Garrett Hood from North Carolina, took first place overall with 791 brick laid in the 2008 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® National bricklaying championship.

The 2008 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® National bricklaying championship decides, "Who is the World’s Best Bricklayer?" Mason Garrett Hood from North Carolina, took first place overall with 791 brick laid. This timed, 60 minute competition was held on Wednesday, 1:30 AM CST, January 23rd, 2008, at the Masonry Construction’s Challenge Arena, located in the Gold Lot, at the 2008 World of Concrete / World of Masonry trade show. This is the largest annual construction trade show in the world. It is held once a year at the Las Vegas Convention Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Last year’s 2007 official show attendance was over 92,000 paid attendees.

The 2008 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 National is a bricklaying competition comprised of the best bricklayers in the world. Twenty, 2-man teams made up of a mason and mason tender, compete to lay the most brick while meeting strictly defined quality standards. The competition has the largest winner’s purse of any masonry competition. The competitors compete for well over $150,000 in cash and prizes before a crowd of 4,500 spectators.

First place winner, Garrett Hood, age 23, a mason with McGee Brothers Company, Monroe, North Carolina, was declared "World’s Best Bricklayer," with 791 brick laid in just sixty minutes, it tied the second highest count ever at the National event. Garrett won the grand prize of a new 2008 Ford F-250, XLT, V8, SuperDuty, CrewCab, 4 x 4 truck, $5,000 in cash and thousands in sponsor prizes.

The SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN award was given to mason Dave Moyle, with Steve Moyle Masonry, Manchester, Iowa. Dave laid 652 brick, his combined brick count and quality of his wall was judged the, "most sellable." Dave Moyle’s tender was Kevin Hallerman, also with Steve Moyle Masonry. As the SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN, Dave Moyle won a new 2008 Bobcat 2200 4WD Utility Vehicle, $5,000 in cash and thousands in sponsor prizes.

The 2nd place overall winner was mason Mike Boll, with G. Porter & Company, St. Charles, Illinois. Mike laid 780 brick and his tender was Ken Huisenga. Mike was last year’s SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 National 1st place winner. Mike won $4,000 cash, and thousands in sponsor prizes.

The 3rd place overall winner was mason Jeff Neely, with Advanced Masonry, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Jeff laid 729 brick and his tender was Paul Harrison. Jeff won $3,000 in cash and thousands in sponsor prizes.

The SPEC MIX TOUGHEST TENDER winner was Shane Barclay, with Rice Lake Construction, Deerwood, Minnesota. Shane won $2,500 in cash and hundreds in sponsor prizes. The SPEC MIX TOUGHEST TENDER is a preliminary event held just before SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 National. In this event the tenders race the clock to set up a predefined work area for the mason. Shane’s winning time was 17 minutes, 40 seconds.

Established to showcase the skill and craftsmanship of masonry, the general description of the bricklaying competition is as follows: The contest requires all masons to meet the quality standards of the event. They have 60 minutes to complete their 26 foot, double wythe brick wall. The competition has four awards, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place are based on the highest brick count meeting the quality standards. The 4th award, the SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN is judged the most sellable wall over 500 brick. This award is the second most coveted award at the event, yet for some winning the SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN award is their main goal, and has the second highest award purse.

This year’s competition is made up of winning regional bricklayers from 15 regions nationwide in the US. In addition, for the first time, masons from Canada and Great Britain competed as well. Competition bricklayers come from states such as Ohio, California, Utah, Michigan, Iowa, Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, Arkansas, South Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Texas, North Carolina and Georgia, and the Canadian province of Alberta, and the West Midlands of central England. The mason competitors who were the 1st Place and SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN winners of the 2007 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® also returned to defend their titles.

For more details about this event go to www.specmixbricklayer500.com.