Chairman's Message: Grab Hold, the Wind Is At Our Back

Words: Dick Dentinger

Each year, the MCAA holds two conventions. The mid-year meeting is held in the late summer or early fall. It’s always hosted at a city or venue that offers more of a boutique convention feel. Any members of the MCAA are welcome, and they gather to hold our committee and mid-year meetings as we steer the association’s direction and goals. Simultaneously, those in attendance network and build relationships for achieving their individual company’s direction and goals. The mid-year conventions have a vibe similar to a three-day long round-table discussion and strategic planning about the most topical and critical issues we face in our industry. Mid-year is my favorite convention to attend. It has never failed to provide me with inspiration to be tapped when I return to my home office, completely recharged.

The MCAA Annual Convention is equally important and just as valuable to attend. That said, the annual convention has a different vibe. Our annual convention is less intimate, and much more robust. It’s big and exciting in many ways. It’s held in conjunction with the World of Concrete on a grand scale in Las Vegas, the dynamic convention capital of the world.

At our company, we have sent representatives to both conventions every year since our founding in 2003. In fact, prior to that, I attended the conventions in the 1990s while working for my parents' masonry business. My parents attended dating back to the 1970’s because they offer invaluable opportunities to network, learn, and investigate trends. Experiencing these conventions provides help in navigating the next move our companies need to make to improve our chances to thrive. They also give us a chance to get a feel for what the mood is in our masonry industry. We sneak a peek on the horizon and can contemplate whether it’s promising or hints at a period of challenge. I’ve been at conventions when times were booming, and a few other times when the showroom floors and classes were awkwardly bare and couldn’t hide a bleak outlook thanks to economic conditions out of our control. Even in those dark years, I always came back more equipped to handle the marketplace coming down on us.

Just weeks ago, we held our annual convention at World of Concrete at the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Fontainebleau host hotel. Once again, it was a big and bold event. Most importantly, I sensed positive vibes. A sense that there was stability coming following some concerns in recent quarters. MCAA’s annual meetings and the convention events last month were well attended, big, bold, and in my view, offered a very positive outlook for our masonry industry. Those who made the trip were doused with a burst of energy to pick up on and use to recharge us for when we headed back home.

In our meetings and all around the show floor, we heard discussions about how quickly MCAA’s AI Program “George” has been taking hold within our industry. AI is here to stay and masonry, thanks to MCAA efforts, is a leader in making certain we don’t fall behind other industries in embracing how we can use AI effectively. There are programs being developed with AI elements that will impact safety and inspection and many more aspects of construction.

The upbeat crowds at the convention events and meetings spread positive energy so much so that you couldn’t help but be pulled into its current. All week we heard presentations, updates, classes, and luncheon discussions sharing similar messages of important positive steps or even leaps forward in industry efforts to improve our needs in replenishing an aging and shrinking workforce. We heard about recruitment efforts happening independently throughout the country from various chapters. Each area of the country collaborating to have a better ability to reach and promote our trade to high schoolers and parents. You could sense there was a movement picking up steam across the country to seize on the opportunity we have to promote the trowel trades even more now that educators are finally agreeing college is not always the best choice for high school graduates. In fact, the construction trades are now being thought of, once again, as a very honorable career choice. We of course have always known this, but it’s wonderful to see our educators are now in agreement.

We witnessed crowded showroom floors in the massive Convention Center bursting with stakeholders from our industry keen on seeing the latest equipment upgrades and newest apps and tools to assist in our work. Attendees also saw evidence of continued advances in robotics within our trades, which is improving the health of our workforce and will relieve pressure on our need to grow our workforce.

In addition, the outdoor WOC events were surrounded by a grandstand of onlookers cheering on the Bricklayer 500 contest. As the contestants raced to the finish, it felt like a Friday Night Lights High School Football Championship. We also watched the Skills Contests which were stock full of exactly what our industry needs most – young and driven apprentices.

Yes, the energy at World of Concrete last month in Las Vegas, was palpable and once again – uplifting. You can sense the wind is at our back and with a bit of planning, and good decisions, we can grab hold and ride the wind forward on our quest to provide good careers in our industry and growth for our businesses.


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