One brick at a time
Bricklayers compete for shot at world championship in Marshalltown
Under a tent, teams of bricklayers race to see who can build the highest and best 25-foot-long brick wall. This was the first year the Spec Mix Bricklayer 500 regional competition was held in Marshalltown.
T-R PHOTOS BY LANA BRADSTREAM Eric Fanny with Woodruff Construction makes sure the 25-foot-long brick wall he is building is even during the Spec Mix Bricklayer 500 competition yesterday. The event was hosted by MARSHALLTOWN Co.
Under a tent, teams of bricklayers race to see who can build the highest and best 25-foot-long brick wall. This was the first year the Spec Mix Bricklayer 500 regional competition was held in Marshalltown.
T-R PHOTOS BY LANA BRADSTREAM Eric Fanny with Woodruff Construction makes sure the 25-foot-long brick wall he is building is even during the Spec Mix Bricklayer 500 competition yesterday. The event was hosted by MARSHALLTOWN Co.
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Bricks, mortar and crowds of people were gathered at MARSHALLTOWN Co. Thursday for the regional Spec Mix Bricklayer 500, the first time the competition was brought to Marshalltown.
Nine competitors pushed themselves and their skills in building the highest 25-foot-long brick wall in one hour, while maintaining high quality.
The contest was the last stop before the winner moves on to the World of Concrete Trade Show in Las Vegas in January for the Spex Mix Bricklayer World Championship, and competes for the title of "World's Best Bricklayer."
The hope for MARSHALLTOWN Chief Operating Officer John Reynolds is that the world champ is also a MARSHALLTOWN Co. competitor.
Seeing the event all come together was the best aspect for Reynolds.
"It takes a lot of work to pull off between our team and the Spec Mix team, the Twin Cities team, the TCC team – that's been my favorite thing is seeing this come to life, because we've been talking about it for six months," he said. "Then, it's nothing but smiles from everyone here. This brings people together and is a lot of fun. You don't get to see people laying brick everyday, much less competing in it. This is a unique event."
As the bricklayers raced to make the best wall, host Tom Clark would provide some commentary and remind everyone how much time was left on the clock. MARSHALLTOWN Marketing Director Ashley Swanson was excited to have Clark present as he is also the national emcee for the world competition in Las Vegas.
"Tom Clark only attends three of the regionals, and we get to be one of the events," she said.
Reynolds wants to see the event return on a larger scale and become a draw for Marshalltown.
"I think after people hear about it, they will wish they had gotten down here," he said. "It is great."
In addition to the competition, a lunch was made available, food trucks were present and students from nine public school districts and community colleges showed up to learn more about bricklaying.
"The most important thing for us is to get the younger generation excited about the skilled trades, and see there's this opportunity out here," Swanson said. "You may not be interested in masonry, but there's so many other skilled trades that they can see and if it is a great career fit moving forward."
According to MARSHALLTOWN President & CEO Joe Carter, anyone, including the younger attendees, had the opportunity to lay some brick and get some training.
"We even had one of our attorneys lay a course of brick today, which was fun," he said. "We're thrilled with the crowd that has shown up to support the guys in the competition."
Swanson noted that the event attracted 11 junior bricklayers who competed before the main event.
Bigger, better
Bringing the Bricklayer 500 regional competition was an opportunity for MARSHALLTOWN Co., said Swanson.
"We thought this would be a great [chance] to showcase the talents right here in the state of Iowa and within the region, but also bring an event to the community," she said. "It's an opportunity for the community to come together, and bring people to the city of Marshalltown, as well. We'd love to continue hosting, and are working out those details to see if it's a possibility. This is a perfect location as we're centrally located."
Carter said he was excited to bring the regional event to town, as the company has been involved with Spec-Mix since the inception of the Bricklayer 500 25 years ago. He received positive feedback from participants and organizers.
"By far, this is surpassing anything they thought they could get," he said. "Especially in year one, and we know we can do it bigger and better. We're excited to do that."
One thing Carter would like to do is attract more people to the event and expand upon are the locations competitors come from. Eight of the nine competitors were from Iowa, and the region goes into Illinois, Minnesota, South Dakota and more.
"We're going to work that a little bit harder," he said."We want to make this competition even bigger and better with 20 competitors. We want more students involved. If [hope to] get 50 schools in the region and beyond coming to Marshalltown, Iowa and taking part in demonstrations, getting more brick masons and people who want to do those types of jobs, get them here and understand there is an opportunity for them."
Carter recalled talking to attendees who came to support the bricklayer in their family from Champaign, Ill.
"The couple from Champaign obviously stayed the night here in town," he said. "If we can make this bigger, it will be better for the community as visitors will see what we've got going on in Marshalltown. That's a win."
Results
Taking first place in the journeyman category of the Bricklayer 500 regional competition was Tommy Iezek of Maxson Masonry; second place, Alex Moyle with Zach Moyle Masonry and; third, Glen Houghton St. with Houghton Masonry.
In the junior division for third years, first place was awarded to Brandon Darlington. In the second year competition, first was given to Jayden Adkins of BAC 3.
Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.