Report of the MCAA Education Committee

We have taken to heart the challenge given to us by our former Treasurer Bill McConnell at last year's Mid Year Meeting in La Jolla when he challenged the Education Committee and then Chairman Dick Felice to "turn a profit" for the MCAA. I am happy to report that with the exception of the funding authorized by the Board to support the foreman development course and the second safety training topics, the committee is actually operating in the black. Forklift Safety Manuals continue to lead all the other MCAA publications in sales and with an OSHA standard for forklift operation looming on the horizon, we anticipate the sales to increase for our Forklift Manuals (Both Volumes I & II). In fact, we are seeking an OSHA endorsement on the Forklift Manuals and if we receive it, sales will undoubtedly increase further. The Safety Training Topics have not been a real big seller. At this point, we do not anticipate developing any further topics. What has worked successfully for the MCAA has been the partnering with other associations on the sale of their publications when applicable to masonry. The Computerized Safety Software was developed by several other national associations and has been marketed by the MCAA. We have received a discounted price from the other associations and then marked up the products so each group sells the product to their members for the same price. We will be seeking out other safety and general management publications that we can partner with. This will keep our costs at a bare minimum and add to our bottom line profit. The MCAA Resources Catalog currently being developed by the Marketing Committee will reflect many new publications for re-sale. We are excited about this program. In fact, the Resource Catalog will be mailed this year to more than just MCAA members. The Membership Committee will be sending it to the roughly 10,000 mason contractors on our database. The Education Committee feels that this will not only help in recruiting new members, but it will boost publication sales as well.

The committee will be looking closely at some of the older MCAA publications such as "Estimating For A Profit" and "Basic Masonry Estimating" to see if they are still valid in today's market place or if they need to be revised. Currently, the MCAA staff is seeking out experts in estimating that we can partner with to revise these publications and possibly begin offering seminars in these areas. Offering seminars other than at Convention is another area that the committee will be researching.

An extremely important area that the MCAA will become involved with is the issue of our customers selecting the right mason contractor. With today's economy in such a strong position, customers are finding it difficult to find reputable mason contractors to bid their work. The result has been projects being done with the wrong mason contractor or even worse, by a general contractor that thinks he can do the masonry. The Southeast Mason Contractors Association has challenged the MCAA and the other chapters around the country to develop a program to deal with this issue. They have committed $2,400 as seed money to find the solution. The MCAA Education Committee will work with the members of the MCAA Marketing Committee to develop a program that addresses the needs of assisting construction customers finding the right mason contractor. Once the program is outlined, we will seek support from MCAA chapters and other allied associations to fund the program. We hope to have a program by the Annual Meeting in Orlando.

Finally, you all have received the 1999 MCAA Conference & Masonry Expo registration brochure. The Education Committee is proud to offer the educational workshops listed on pages 10 & 11 of the registration brochure. Not only are this year's topics extremely strong but contractors will now be able to attend five of the eight workshops as opposed to three of nine offered in previous years. We feel that these strong topics will help in attracting a higher turnout of mason contractors to Orlando.

Mr. President, I would like to thank the MCAA staff for pitching in to carry the load in the absence of a Director of Education. I would also like to thank the following members of the Education Committee, John J. Smith, Paul Odom, Bruce Smith and Mike Lochner for assisting the MCAA in accomplishing our committees' goals. I would also like to thank you for having confidence in me to serve as the Education Committee Chairman. That's my report.