3281 Route 206, Suite 2
Bordentown, NJ 08505

Phone: (609) 324-1140
Fax: (609) 324-1138

SUN SHINES AT ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT

Our 15th Annual Golf Tournament was held on May 13th 2008 at Sea Oaks Golf Club in Little Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey.  With over 150 golfers participating, everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather and the spirit of friendly competition.  The continued support of our wonderful sponsors and participants continues to make this a popular event and provides a fun time for everyone.

After a full day of golf, guests enjoyed dining on a delicious assortment of appetizers, a fantastic buffet dinner and an extensive dessert table.  The prizes were then handed out, with the first place honors going to the foursome of Brian Stricker, Michael Schmerbeck, Chris Sivak and Charlie Crawford with an impressive score of 61.

NJIT MASONRY DESIGN/BUILD COMPETITION 

Architecture students at the New Jersey Institute of Technology School of Architecture in Newark, New Jersey took part in the latest Masonry Design/Build Competition which was held the weekend of April 5th and 6th, 2008. Sponsored by the Masonry Contractors of New Jersey, in cooperation with the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers of New Jersey Labor Management Fund, and the International Masonry Institute, the competition is now part of the curriculum for NJIT undergraduate second-year architecture students. It affords them a unique opportunity to explore the various masonry materials and collaborate with professionals from the masonry trade.

This year’s project required the design of a public pool and community center for the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Students were instructed that in this neighborhood there is a desire for community spaces designed in a manner to meet the needs of a variety of ages and activities.  With the design of this facility, the students were presented with an opportunity to re-think these conditions, through the activities and interaction of individuals and their environment, thus probing new possibilities for the Pool in the 21st Century.

The competition boasted a jury of leading industry professionals including Urs Gauchat, Dean of the NJIT School of Architecture, Michael Schmerbeck, President of Masonry Contractors of New Jersey, Greg Hess of Caretti Inc., Carlos Jimenez of Carlos Jimenez Studio, Kimberly Light of Gensler, Henry Smith-Miller of Smith-Miller & Hawkinson, and Jirair Youssefian of Vitetta. 

First place honors were shared this year, going to Professor Cooke’s "Team Green" mentored by Mike Peterson of IMI and Professor Kim’s "Team White" mentored by John Fajnor of Speranza Brickwork, Inc. Professor Grosman’s "Team Blue", also mentored by John Fajnor, followed in 3rd place, and there were also awards given for “Best Team Effort” (Team Yellow; Prof. Bristol), “Best Presentation” (Team Black; Prof. Atwood) and “Best Mock-Up” (Team Green; Prof. Cooke).

DANCING WITH THE STARS AT THE CHRISTMAS DINNER DANCE

Every year in December our entire Membership and special guests are invited to celebrate the Holiday Season and wish each other a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year. In 2007, we welcomed the season in grand style at Bally’s in Atlantic City.

Members and guests were surprised and excited to learn that they were to be treated to an exhilarating performance by several dancers from the popular “Dancing with the Stars” television show.  One of the dancers from Season Four, Brian Fortuna, had a captive audience as he took on the role of Master of Ceremonies for the evening.  It was especially enjoyable for us to have Brian perform at this event because he is from New Jersey and has a local dance studio located in Collingswood, NJ.  In addition to his Master of Ceremonies duties, he also partnered with Kym Johnson to perform several fascinating dance routines, and dance partners Edyta Slawinska and Alec Mazo also entertained the crowd with several wonderful dances.  All of the guests were then treated to a dance lesson from Brian and Kym, and everyone took to the dance floor and had a great time.  After the show, guests enjoyed dancing to the music of Cover Story, an outstanding 8-piece band.

TRADE EXPO ANOTHER HUGE SUCCESS

Over 300 architects, engineers and contractors attended our 2007 Annual Trade Expo which was held on October 15th at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick.  The attendees had the opportunity to take advantage of informative AIA/CES accredited educational programs conducted directly on the Expo floor as well as being able to view table-top displays showcasing masonry supplies and accessories.  This continues to be a highly successful event in our calendar.

NEW JERSEY GOLDEN TROWEL AWARDS

On October 22, 2007, Masonry Contractors of New Jersey co-sponsored the biennial Golden Trowel Awards program along with the International Masonry Institute (IMI) and the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers ADC of New Jersey.  The New Jersey Golden Trowel Awards recognize outstanding achievements in masonry design and construction. Winners are chosen by a jury of architects, contractors, and craftworkers on the basis of architectural quality, particularly the way masonry is used to improve the built environment. Awards are presented for design in various building markets and in all of the trowel trades including brick and block, restoration, tile, marble and terrazzo, mosaic work, and more. We had much to show off this year because our contractor members had fifty submissions, including eight of the twelve winning projects as well as the Grand Award - Science Park High School in Newark, New Jersey by Speranza Brickwork, Inc.

NJ SCHOOL BOARDS SHOW

On October 23, 2007, together with the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Administrative District Council of NJ, the Bricklayers Labor Management Fund and the IMI, the Association hosted a Martini Night during the New Jersey School Boards Show.  We were pleased to have a new specialty drink featured at the show - the Masontini.  We took this opportunity to promote the use of masonry in school construction to approximately 175 school board members.  By emphasizing the ties between environment and school performance, as well as issues like durability and safety, we hoped to encourage the school board officials to use their construction budgets wisely by using masonry.  We would like to extend special thanks to Jirair Youssefian of Vitetta who did such an excellent job designing our masonry booth and Clayton Block Co. Inc. for donating the block that was used in the booth.