2021 SpecMix Bricklayer 500 Events

The 2021 Bricklayer500 Regional Competition was held at Midwest Brick & Block on Saturday, October 2, 2021. All  of the teams competing were Union members employed by Bricklayers Local 1 of Missouri Signatory Contractors.  Like last year, the event was expanded to include a Blocklaying competition, "The Fastest Hands on the Block", as well as an Apprentice Contest, consisting of 8 Local 1 Apprentices, representing all 3 term years.

Photos courtesy of SpecMix and ADC Office Administrator Amy Dickey.

Shown above are Local 1 Journeyman Bricklayer JT Payne and his mason tender Jeff Head (Foeste Masonry), who won first place with a brick count of 702 and will advance to the World Championships in Las Vegas in January 2022.  Brother Payne also won the Craftsman Award, which goes to the team with the wall with the least amount of imperfections. 

The full list of Bricklayer 500 winners is below. 

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APPRENTICE COMPETITION

The 2021 Apprentice Competition consisted of 8 total Apprentices, 3 from Levels 1 and 2, 3 from Levels 3 and 4, and 2 from Levels 5 and 6. Each group had a different project to complete with their finished products being judged by Local 1 Signatory Contractor Greg Gillick, and Journeymen Bricklayers Ray Gillick, Larry Gillick, Dan Gillick, John Enger and Tom Deutman. 

We’d also like to give a special thanks to Journeyman Bricklayer Brennan Jennewein and Apprentice Bricklayer Eli Asta for volunteering their time to assist as Mason Tenders for the contest.


The winners of the Apprentice Competition were:

First Year Contest: Ben Reimer (Level 1, Heitkamp Masonry)

Also competing was Riley Snider (Level 1, Swanson Masonry).

Second Year Contest: Chase Morfeld (Level 4, John Smith Masonry)

Also competing were Devlan Noonan (Level 3, Leonard Masonry) and Payton Savat (Level 3, Jahnsen Masonry)

Third Year Contest: Josh Rehme (Level 7, Patrico Masonry)

Also competing were Steve Sliger (Level 5, Wright Masonry) and Richard Cooksey (Level 6, John Smith Masonry). 

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BLOCKLAYING COMPETITION
There was also a new Blocklaying competition this year, with our competitors speed-laying as many block as they can within 20 minutes, with 5 minutes to strike prior to judging.  This year's winner was Chris Cain, along with his Mason Tender Eric Heberle, of John Smith Masonry. 

The winners of the Blocklaying Competition were:
First Place: Chris Cain (John Smith Masonry) 
Second Place: Ryan Spurgeon (Swanson Masonry)
Third Place:   Jason Korman (Leonard Masonry)

Congratulations to all winners and participants, we are proud to have you represent us as the "Best Hands in the Business!"  Lots more photos of all three competitions can be found here, under the Events tab.