Williamson Has Presence at the Spec Mix Bricklayer 500

Williamson students mixed and delivered mud, Daniel Hiltebeitel, director of construction technology-masonry, was a judge, and Mike Clement 8W2, sales manager for Diener Brick Co., was a judge.

Also on hand were Tom Collins 8W1, president of Phoenix Contractors, Inc., a masonry company, and his employees Paul Capriolo 0W9 and Joe Masters 0W7, and Matt Marrone 1W4, was on hand mixing mud. From Williamson’s Advancement Office, KC Cassell and Pete D’Orazio were there observing. Pete Zowlak 0W7 was a competitor.

They were all at the Spec Mix Bricklayer 500 held recently at Fizzano Brothers Concrete Products, Inc., in Crum Lynne. Twenty-two, 2-man teams competed to see who could lay the most brick in one hour while being accurate in their work. Awards were given for most bricks laid and best craftsmanship.

The event was a regional competition with the winners going on to the national competition which will be part of the World of Concrete trade show in Las Vegas, NV, in February.

Hiltebeitel said the event promotes quality training and pride in workmanship among journeymen masons. “This competition rewards, and gives some attention, to our country’s best mason journeymen. I brought the students to watch and help out because I’m always talking about the importance of masons working hard. This was a good opportunity for them to see how much work a mason can produce when he hustles.”

A mason from Pittsburgh ended up as the fastest and most accurate, but the leftover bricks, blocks, and mortar were donated to Williamson. Also, Dan Mulvihill 1W5 won a flat-screen television in a bean bag toss competition. It is expected that Fizzano Brothers will host this event on an annual basis.

More pictures of the event can be found on the Williamson Facebook page.