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Garrett Hood is 2-time champion of the 2010 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® LAS VEGAS, NV—The 2010 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® National bricklaying championship decides, “Who is the World’s Best Bricklayer?” For 25-year old mason Garrett Hood from North Carolina, the bright lights of Las Vegas and the intensity of competing for the world bricklaying title is no big deal. For the second time in just three national competitions, Hood took first place overall with 911 brick laid after a 100 brick deduction. This 60-minute competition was held on Wednesday, February 3rd at the Masonry Construction’s Challenge Arena, at the 2010 World of Concrete / World of Masonry trade show. This is the largest annual construction trade show in the world and the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 is the exposition’s single greatest attraction drawing an estimated 3,000 or more spectators every year. The event is so popular, the World of Concrete - Daily News featured a cover article entitled “Top 10 Things to Do and See at the WOC” with the SPEC MIX Bricklayer 500 ranked #1.
Established to showcase the skill and craftsmanship of masonry, the general description of the bricklaying competition is as follows: The contest requires all masons to meet the quality standards of the event as they build a 26-foot, double wythe brick wall. The competition has four awards; 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place are based on the highest brick count meeting the quality standards. The 4th award, the SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN, is judged based on the most sellable wall over 500 brick. The walls are closely evaluated by 20 carefully selected masonry officials averaging 20 years of bricklaying experience. Many of the competitors feel winning the SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN award is their main goal, and it has the second highest award. The SPEC MIX Bricklayer 500 has the largest winner’s purse of any masonry competition with approximately $100,000 in cash and prizes. When the dust settled and the awards were given, Hood won the grand prize of a new 2010 Ford F-250, XLT, V8, SuperDuty, CrewCab, 4 x 4 truck with an innovative Ford Work Solutions package. Garrett also won $5,000 in cash, a STIHL TS 420 Cutquik® cut-off machine, and thousands in additional sponsor prizes. After collecting all of his prizes with the help of his brother and father, Garrett said, “Today’s my father’s 50th birthday—winning today is the best present I could ever give him.” Garrett's mason tender, who strategically coached Hood to the championship title, was Kevin Hallman, also with nationally renowned McGee Brothers Company. Garrett has a history of winning bricklaying championships; he is even a former SkillsUSA National masonry champion. He also took first place in the 2008 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 National and took second place in 2009. Garrett has made a name for himself in his nine year career in masonry. Pound for pound, Garrett may easily be the best mason to ever put a trowel to use, but there’s always next year’s National competition and hungry bricklayers ready for the challenge.
The SPEC MIX Bricklayer 500 TOP CRAFTSMAN, the second most coveted award, was given to mason Joseph Vanek, of Vanek Masonry, Oak Forest, Illinois. Joseph laid 570 brick and that combined brick count and quality of his wall was judged the, “most sellable.” Joseph’s tender was Bob Vanek, also with Vanek Masonry. As the SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN, Joseph won $5,000 in cash, an EZ Grout MH-12 Mud Hog mixer, a STIHL TS 420 Cutquik® cut-off machine with B 20 12” diamond wheel and thousands in sponsor prizes. After the competition Vanek told the crowd his only goal was to be the 2010 TOP CRAFTSMAN—‘mission accomplished, Joe.’ The 2nd place overall winner was mason Ken Rutley, with Mayzes Masonry, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Ken laid 818 brick and his tender was Adam Giesbrecht. Ken won $4,000 cash and sponsor prizes including a STIHL TS 410 STIHL Cutquik® cut-off machine with B 20 12” diamond wheel. The 3rd place overall winner was mason Adam Vaske, with Seedorff Masonry, Strawberry Point, Iowa. Adam laid 691 brick and his tender was Don Vaske, also with Seedorff Masonry. Adam took home $3,000 in cash and sponsor prizes. The SPEC MIX TOUGHEST TENDER winner was Aaron Cooke, with Giambrone Masonry, Inc., Hudson, Ohio. Truly an ironman style event that separates the men from the boys, Aaron won $2,500 in cash and sponsor prizes. The SPEC MIX TOUGHEST TENDER is a preliminary event held just before SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 National. In this event the tenders race the clock to set up a predefined work area for the mason. Aaron’s winning time was 19 minutes, just 7-8 minutes over the event’s best recorded time. This year’s competitor roster was made up of winning bricklayers from 13 qualifying regional competitions held nationwide in the US & Canada. Competition bricklayers come from states such as Ohio, California, Washington, Wisconsin, Iowa, Utah, Kentucky, Colorado, Illinois, Texas, and North Carolina, and from the Canadian provinces of Alberta, and Ontario. The 2010 contest was the third time the champion came from the same state, North Carolina, and the same mason contractor, McGee Brothers Company with Hood winning two of the three. The team of SPEC MIX, Inc is incredibly pleased with the success of the event and the positive impact it has had on promoting the masonry trade, especially to young, aspiring bricklayers. In attendance and special guest interview of SPEC MIX, Bradley “Vince” Wright, a 19-year old two-time SkillsUSA Masonry champion, sees masonry and the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 competition as goals and his future. Widely recognized by the construction industry as the premier event at the World of Concrete & Masonry, the SPEC MIX staff is the first to profess the success of the competition is largely attributed to the support of its sponsors. According to SPEC MIX Eastern & Central Regional Sales Manager, Nick Blohowiak, “without the unbelievable teamwork of all our sponsors and the 40 plus SPEC MIX Mudslingers, we wouldn’t be able to put on the show we do for these fans and the competitors that deserve it.” Working together to promote the masonry trade and its members, numerous companies listed below pull together by making both cash and product contributions to reward the bricklayers and their tenders.
EVENT SPONSORS
For those fans that were unable to make the trip to Las Vegas to see the sweat and mud fly, SPEC MIX is in the final stages of producing a 5 minute, high energy recap DVD that will be available to the construction industry. As well, people are encouraged to visit www.specmixbricklayer500.com to view the unedited, complete 4-hour SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 video showing every minute of the event. An edited two-hour edition that will replace the “uncut” footage currently hosted on specmixbricklayer500.com by the end of March. Anyone in the masonry trade knows they are the torch carrying successors of a craft with a long-standing reputation that is loaded with integrity, pride and commitment to quality. Above all objectives, the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 is one way SPEC MIX and its sponsors can give testament to the passion of every person on a masonry job site. If there is such a thing as a “labor of love,” hosting the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 is a responsibility that takes the cake for SPEC MIX crew and we are very thankful for everyone’s contribution to this successful program.
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