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*LIVE* WEBINAR TRAINING - MASONRY APPRENTICE CLASS

4/24/2020

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​SAT, MAY 16, 2020
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM EDT


​INTRODUCTION TO MASONRY 28101-13
Provides information about basic masonry materials, tools, techniques, and safety precautions; explains how to mix mortar by hand and lay masonry units; and describes the skills, attitudes, and abilities of successful masons.​

COST: $0 REGISTERED STUDENTS
​
REGISTER NOW
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THE $2 TRILLION CORONAVIRUS STIMULUS BILL: HOW DOES IT IMPACT MASON CONTRACTORS

3/31/2020

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Webinar today @ 10:00 AM CDT

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​Join Stephen Borg, of The Keelen Group and Jeff Buczkiewicz of the Mason Contractors Association of America as they discuss the recently passed $2 trillion stimulus package and what regulations, tax credits, and funding may impact and be available to mason contractors and small businesses that will ensure you are able to keep your trusted, skilled employees on board and your businesses afloat during the coronavirus pandemic. MCAA is here to support and aid our members and mason contractors throughout the country weather this storm and hope this webinar will be a great resource to you.
Register Now
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MAF MEMBERSHIP HAS ITS BENEFITS

3/4/2020

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Did you know that as an MAF Member Contractor you are eligible to participate in the MCAA's Healthcare Plan?

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The MCAA's Association Healthcare Plan allows small employers to gain access to large group plan designs and doctor networks while avoiding pitfalls that add costs to small group medical plans.
 
The MCAA has partnered with Assurance, one of the premier insurance brokerages in the country, to develop an Association Health Plan (AHP).

FULL DETAILS AVAILABLE HERE: https://bit.ly/2wpRvbs
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2020 MCAA Masonry Skills Challenge

3/4/2020

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First, Second, and Third Year Apprentices Compete During MASONRY MADNESS®
​At World of Concrete

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By Dan Kamys
Algonquin, Il., February 11, 2020 — The 21st MCAA Masonry Skills Challenge was held on February 5, 2020 during MASONRY MADNESS® at the World of Concrete. The competition is designed to showcase the best apprentices the industry has to offer.

The MCAA Masonry Skills Challenge is a competition to demonstrate the skills training in the industry, challenging winning apprentices from regional U.S. and foreign competitions to determine the top masonry apprentices at each level. The spotlight is on the world’s finest young masons, and focuses attention on careers in the masonry industry.


Each contestant was presented with a project drawing appropriate to their skill level just moments before the competition began. Contestants had three hours to construct their respective project using the materials provided. Final projects looked great, and apprentices and instructors should be proud of the hard work. Judges were impressed with the quality of the apprentices’ construction, and had the tough decision of choosing the winners.

After the judges completed their scoring using the MCAA’s new scoring app with Sonim XP8 smartphones running the MCAA Perks Program’s Sprint network, the results were announced.

​Read the full article : => https://bit.ly/2ww4pVb

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Human reclamation through bricklaying

2/4/2020

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Pittsburgh’s construction boom offers a second chance to those who barely had a first one.

​By  George F. Will Columnist
​PITTSBURGH — In the 1940s, Steve Shelton’s grandfather dressed up — white shirt, tie, fedora — to take the streetcar to the steel mill where he would change into work clothes, and would shower before dressing up to return home. “There was,” Shelton says, “such dignity in the trades back then.”

There still is at the Trade Institute of Pittsburgh (TIP) that Shelton launched. There, in what used to be a Westinghouse Electric factory, some men, many in their 30s looking for their first legal jobs, and a few women learn to wield trowels and mortar, thereby deriving from bricklaying (and welding, carpentry and painting) a dignity they did not feel when they grew up on this city’s meanest streets, or when, for 85 percent of them, their incarcerations ended.
​
Shelton, 59, was 12 when he first was taken to a construction site. “I just wanted to build stuff,” so after enjoying two things in high school (wood shop, metal shop), serving in the Navy and working in the trades, he started a business “out of the trunk of my car.” Eventually, however, he wondered: “Where are all the young guys?” He saw: “Everyone was being pushed to college.” He thought: “Having guys 55 or 60 years old on top of scaffolding, laying bricks, is not sustainable.”

Read more::> 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/human-reclamation-through-bricklaying/2020/01/30/dc24fa16-4396-11ea-aa6a-083d01b3ed18_story.html
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Florida Department of Corrections Hosts Inaugural Inmate Masonry Competition

1/30/2020

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Baker Correctional Institution winners of first ever competition


SANDERSON, Fla. — Inmates from across the state traveled to Baker Correctional Institution to compete in the first ever Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) inter-institutional inmate masonry competition. Seven teams from various Florida correctional institutions showcased their masonry skills, judged by members of the Florida Masonry Apprenticeship and Educational Foundation (FMAEF).


“This is a perfect model of how we are trying to take our rehabilitation programming and actually have it contribute to restoring the men and women under our care back to their communities with a skill that can immediately result in employment,” said FDC Secretary Mark S. Inch. “This competition demonstrates the skill that meets industry standards for immediate employment. We have skilled instructors that are following industry standards, and we have great support from the business community; both from professional and educational organizations.”


Masonry competitions are used industry wide to highlight the quality, skill and fidelity of masonry education programs. FDC’s masonry programs offer industry-recognized certifications through rigorous coursework and hands-on experience. This training program equips inmates with the skills necessary for employment. Prior to release, inmates are paired with industry professionals through FMAEF to assist with immediate employment opportunities.

Read more:: http://www.dc.state.fl.us/comm/press/Main/01-27-Masonry.html

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Flames destroy apartment building under construction on Southside

1/13/2020

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110 firefighters worked for hours to get 3-alarm fire under control

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  JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A four-story apartment building under construction on Jacksonville’s Southside burned to the ground before dawn Sunday morning in a fire that kept the eastbound lanes of Baymeadows Road blocked at Interstate 295 all morning.
Flames from the Fusion Apartment at Baymeadows being built along Baymeadows Road East spread to woods but the fire was stopped before it could spread into the neighboring Hampton Park neighborhood.

The only thing left standing by daybreak was the concrete-block stairwell in the center of the building.
It took more than three hours for 110 firefighters to bring the three-alarm blaze under control, but lingering smoke is keeping roads in the area closed.

None of the firefighters called to fight the fire were injured, although their heart rates and temperatures are being taken assess heat exhaustion or other ill effects. Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Chief Keith Powers said 14 engines and seven ladder trucks were needed to battle the three-alarm fire.
​

Powers said the fire grew quickly because the sprinkler system in the large, mostly wooden structure was not yet active.  ::Read entire article here: https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2020/01/12/jfrd-battling-structure-fire-on-southside/
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MASONRY APPRENTICE CLASSES ARE STARTING!

1/7/2020

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MAF Masonry Apprentice
Classes Starting Soon!
OPEN HOUSE EVENT SCHEDULE

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The Masonry Association of Florida MASONRY APPRENTICE CLASSES are beginning soon. See dates and locations for Open House events in your area:

​
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2020
Individual class times are listed below:
ORLANDO PROGRAM
@ 7:00 AM

Orange Technical College
2900 W. Oak Ridge Road
Orlando, FL 32809

Contact:
Sheila Parsons
mafapprentice@gmail.com
407-251-6050

Map & Directions
TAMPA BAY PROGRAM
@7:30 AM

9117 Florida Mining Blvd
(at the Cemex Yard)
Tampa, FL 33634

Contact:
Linda Boyd
239 201-6011
memberservices@floridamasonry.com

Map & Directions
MANATEE PROGRAM
@ 7:30 AM

Manatee Technical College
6305 State Road 70 E
Bradenton, FL 34203

Contact:
Roy Nystrom
nystromr@manateeschools.net
941-744-6971

Map & Directions
SOUTHWEST PROGRAM
@ 7:30 AM

Preferred Materials
25061 Old 41 Road
Bonita Springs, FL


Contact:
Linda Boyd
239 201-6011
memberservices@floridamasonry.com

Map & Directions
NORTH CENTRAL PROGRAM
@ 7:30 AM

Marion Technical Institute
1614 East Fort King Street
Ocala, Fl. 34471

Contact:
Linda Boyd
239 201-6011
memberservices@floridamasonry.com

Map & Directions
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A Fire-Resistant Home? #BUILDWITHBLOCK #BLOCKSTRONG

12/27/2019

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Here are Materials That Should be Used for Homes in the Fire Zone

​A man built his vacation home in the fire zone, and when the Thomas Fire blazed through, it reached his property. But it didn't burn it down. He says it's due to his fire-resistant design and materials, and officials are saying it's the way to go.

As Woolsey Fire victims start to rebuild their homes, fire experts say they need to rethink how they rebuild. And maybe they should be doing it the way Jeremy wolf did — rebuilding with specific materials to prevent their home from burning down in a future fire.
​
"It’s a beautiful place to spend time," said Jeremy Wolf about his weekend home in Ojai Valley. He built the house five years ago, and knew he had to rebuild wisely.
​
Read more: https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/fire-proof-home-california-wildfires-ojai-valley-thomas-fire/82278/
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How CMU BUILT ONE OF the five safest schools in America

11/7/2019

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​Florence Middle School won the 2019 Top Block Design Award given by the Alabama Concrete Industries Association and AIA North Alabama Chapter

From the National Concrete Masonry Association | http://www.ncma.org
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"First and foremost they wanted something that was going to be timeless - a classic design. And they wanted something that was going to be secure for the students. Part of that is durability - the wear and tear on middle schools is pretty tough, so concrete block was a 'no-brainer' option."
 
When architect Calvin Durham and his team at Lambert Ezell Durham Architecture in northern Alabama were tasked with designing the new middle school in their hometown of Florence, they knew right away that they could draw upon structures of the past.

The 180,000 square-foot space is a partial Tuscan ode — design-wise — to the former Appleby School, which opened in 1917 and was eventually replaced in 1951.

“We used some of that detailing and some of that ‘feel.’ We didn’t copy it so much as we used that same vernacular of elements to kind of draw back on,” Durham noted.
​
What he and none of his associates on the project expected however, was for one of the most renowned voices in the world on the subject of school safety to proclaim their new structure one of the most secure schools he’s ever encountered.

“I was blown away,” said Durham.

Read more> How CMU allowed an architect to design one of the five safest schools in America
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Masonry Association of Florida, Inc. |PO Box 24474 , Fort Lauderdale, FL 33307
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