LAS VEGAS, NV — Miron Construction Co. Inc. recently hosted masonry’s biggest event, the 2019 SPEC MIX Bricklayer 500 Wisconsin Regional Competition. This is the second year Miron has hosted the event. In 2018, the SPEC MIX Top Craftsman Award went to Miron’s own Roman Graebel and his mason tender Greg Korslin.

As the industry is facing a shortage of skilled labor, the SPEC MIX Bricklayer 500 competition aims to demonstrate that the masonry trade is an exciting and lucrative field. The concept is simple: the competition discovers who can build the biggest wall, with the fewest number of errors, in one hour.

Several teams of regional brick masons and mason tenders competed for a spot in the Bricklayer 500 national championship to be held at the World of Concrete in Las Vegas on February 5. In addition to the competitors, Miron Construction invited students from surrounding high schools to attend the event to expose them to the trade and give them the opportunity to participate in a student bricklayer contest. This portion of the program is part of a bigger workforce development initiative being implemented nationally to inspire interest in skilled labor as a career choice.

The Bricklayer 500 event was created to promote masonry construction while accentuating the craftsmanship, pride and passion that masons dedicate to their work. The Miron team said that they are proud of the hard-working masons on their team and that the event allows them to highlight their craftsmanship and give back to the masonry trade to strengthen its future.