This serpentine wall transitioned by corbelling to a mirror image within its six ft. height.

Georgia Tech and Skills USA Team Up for an Outstanding Demonstration – The excitement at the NCMA Demonstration Area at ICON EXPO in San Antonio was due to the past masonry Skills USA winners from Harlingen High School, Harlingen, Texas who teamed up with the Georgia Tech Department of Architecture to demonstrate innovative new software developed under a grant from the NCMA Education and Research Foundation. To showcase the software’s capabilities and the ability of masonry to lend itself to provide futuristic designs, a six foot high, 20 foot long serpentine wall that transitioned by corbelling into a mirror image of itself in the six foot height of the wall was designed using the software and constructed on the show floor. The Skills USA students, Robert Gonzalez and Jose Jaquez with help from their instructor, Victor Santillan assembled the wall. Attendees gathered daily around the demo area to watch the progress. The completed wall was a testament to the capabilities of the software and the ability of future masons to be able to construct the new designs. A big thank you goes to Featherlite Building Products of Texas for the material donation for this wonderful demonstration and Mortar Net USA Ltd for their generosity.

Bob Prchal of Watkins Concrete, was declared the champion with the best overall score.

A Whole Lot of Bull in San Antonio! Everything’s bigger in Texas they say, and the Bull Riding Competition at the 2010 Icon Expo was certainly a runaway success!  The mechanical bull was sponsored by Hess Machinery and Dancing Bear during the two-day show, and attendees enjoyed the opportunity to test their rodeo skills on the show floor. Each day, a daily winner with the best score was announced, followed by a “Buck Off” competition at the end of the show to determine the Bull Riding Champion. The Friday winner was Tim Sanders of Middle Tennessee State University and the Saturday winner was James Farny of the Portland Cement Association. Bob Prchal of Watkins Concrete, who was sporting his own cowboy hat, boots and riding glove, was declared the champion with the best overall score. The daily winners took home a rodeo medal and a copy of the book Gates of the Alamo, while the champion received a copy of the book along with a trophy.

Raffle winner Paul Croushore (center) of LANXESS Corporation chose the $5000 cash.

Raffle - The Foundations of the National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA) and the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI) held a Raffle during the Icon Expo tradeshow. The annual Raffle not only generates a lot of excitement, but much needed funds for the Foundations as well. This year over 200 tickets were sold, raising over $10,000. The winning ticket, entitling the winner to a cruise for two or $5000 cash, was selected at the end of the trade show, on Saturday March 20. Winner Paul Croushore of LANXESS Corporation chose the $5000 cash. Thank you to the Raffle sponsors: Oldcastle Architectural, Basalite, Midwest Block and Brick, Pathfinder, and Block USA.

NCMA/ICPI Safety Awards Program - For the fourth year in a row, NCMA and ICPI partnered together to recognize the concrete masonry, SRW, and concrete paver manufacturers with the best worker-safety records.  135 facilities entered the program this year, up from 104 last year—a growth of 30%.  Four Silver Awards (second-best, non-zero recordable injury incidence rate, within several categories based on hours worked), five Gold Awards (best, non-zero incidence rate), and 120 Platinum Awards (zero recordable injuries during the calendar year—up 38% from last year) were presented at the NCMA / ICPI Safety and Design Awards Banquet on Saturday, 20 March 2010.  For the first time, a Milestone Award was presented, to the Basalite Sparks facility, recognizing zero recordable injuries in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.  For a full list of the Safety Awards winners, visit www.ncma.org/news.

NCMA Chair of the Board, Michael Finch (left) and ICPI Chairman of the Board, Ed Fioroni (right) presented the 2009 NCMA/ICPI Design Awards of Excellence.

Design Awards - As part of the 2009 NCMA/ICPI Design Awards of Excellence and Safety Awards Banquet held Saturday evening, March 20^h, in San Antonio, architects were recognized for contributions in the design of projects utilizing concrete masonry, SRW and concrete pavers. These were the 2009 winners chosen by a jury of peers in the categories of commercial, residential, hardscapes, both SRW and concrete pavers, along with sustainability. NCMA Chair of the Board, Michael Finch and ICPI Chairman of the Board, Ed Fioroni presented a plaque and check to each architect representing the winning firms. The architects spoke about their projects and how concrete masonry and concrete projects not only help to produce beautiful and durable buildings but make design work easier for their clients. Along with their projects being shown at the banquet, a display panel of the projects was on display throughout the ICON EXPO Show.  ACM Chemistries graciously sponsored the banquet. For a full list of the Design Award winners, visit www.ncma.org/news.

The most highly anticipated Icon Expo education program was the Vision 2020 Track.

Icon Expo Education Programs – The educational component of Icon Expo was popular with attendees. The sessions contained many helpful and timely topics and each presenter should be applauded for their enthusiasm and effort. In addition to the education tracks, there were12 Production-Focused, Vendor-Specific Seminars.

  The most highly anticipated Education Track was the Vision 2020 Track that “Kicked Off” at the NCMA Annual Convention. Highlights for the Vision 2020 Program included updates given by Chris Fisher and Michelle Siemer of Ducker Worldwide, who are in the midst of the research and survey called Knowledge Capital. This study will provide the industry with a baseline on market share of CMU and SRW, markets for potential growth and suggestions to help in the planning of goals set in the Vision 2020 program to grow market share. The study will be completed by the end of April.

   In the various Vision 2020 educational programs held in San Antonio, four new “Tool Kits” were presented along with the NCMA web site of the Vision 2020 program www.ncma.org/resources/Vision_2020 which will allow members to learn more about the program and access the resources and tool kits available. If you would like to learn more about Vision 2020, go to the link above and or contact NCMA.

 Thank You to our Generous Icon Expo Sponsors