WHO IS THE WORLD’S BEST BRICKLAYER?

NORTHEAST REGIONAL

MARK WELL SR. NAMED NORTHEAST AMERICA’S BEST BRICKLAYER

Fairfield, NJ – The best masons in the Northeast came together to test their skill, speed and stamina by battling to see who could build the largest and best 26-foot-long brick wall in one hour. The competition is one of 24 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® Regional Series competitions to be held across North America in 2019. The winner of the each regional qualifies to compete in 2020 World Championship on February 5th, at the World of Concrete expo in Las Vegas.

12 teams of masons and tenders lined the arena at the District Council Training Center in Fairfield, NJ ready to prove they are the best craftsmen in the region. Mason Mark Wells Sr. and mason tender Mark Wells Jr. of VIP Construction in Monroe Township, NJ took home top honors with a brick count of 480, winning a free trip to Las Vegas for the World Championship, a cash prize of $1200, a Marshalltown tool bag, Stabila Level and the title, “Northeast America’s Best Bricklayer.”

This year high school students also had the opportunity to compete in the JR. SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500, an event designed specifically for their skill level. They were given 20 minutes to build an abbreviated version of the wall being constructed during the day’s journeymen bricklaying battle. 6 teams of students from across New Jersey and Pennsylvania took part in the competition. Mason Adrian Kaminski and tender Omid Bayapi from Local 5 South New Jersey took home top honors and a cash prize of $150.

2019 NORTHEAST REGIONAL RESULTS

FIRST PLACE
MASON
Mark Wells Sr.
TENDER
Mark Wells Jr.
COMPANY
VIP Construction
Monroe Township, NJ

BRICK COUNT

480

PRIZE AMOUNT

1st Place: $1,200

2ND PLACE:
MASON
Ray Byers
TENDER
Adam Byers
COMPANY
Marsa INC
Pittsburgh, PA

BRICK COUNT

455

PRIZE AMOUNT

Second Place: $600

3RD PLACE AND TOP CRAFTSMAN:
MASON
Ray Merrill
TENDER
Felipe Ortega
COMPANY
Connecticut Mason Contractors
Middletown, CT

BRICK COUNT

454

PRIZE AMOUNT

Third Place: $500, TOP CRAFTSMAN: $1200

The SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500^® was established by SPEC MIX in 2003 to showcase the skill and craftsmanship of professional masons. It is featured as the headliner event of MASONRY MADNESS™ Day during the World of Concrete and recognized as the masonry industry’s premier bricklaying competition with a total purse estimated at $125,000 that annually awards the title, “World’s Best Bricklayer”. Each year there are a series of preliminary SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 Regional Qualifying Events held throughout North America to determine who will compete in the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 World Championship. The Championship finale draws as many as 6,000 spectators with thousands of live webcast viewers who tune in to watch this bricklayer battle.

NOTE USE OF TERMS: Please respect all legal trademarks for trade use. In print, the correct way to refer to the competition event is the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® World Championship, and MASONRY MADNESS® or MASONRY MADNESS® Day, case use as shown. The award titles for SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN, and SPEC MIX TOUGHEST TENDER®, should be in all caps followed by the word, “award.” When writing about our corporation the correct way to write our corporate name is SPEC MIX®. If referring to SPEC MIX brand the correct way is SPEC MIX®. The ® mark should always be used on the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500®, and SPEC MIX® the first time either term is used in body copy and always used when either term is in a headline or sub-headline. The same is correct for MASONRY MADNESS® or MASONRY MADNESS® Day.

If any of these title terms are used for mass media news or editorial use, we ask that the full term be used at least once at the beginning of the article, thereafter, “event or competition” would be acceptable terms. Please do not cut, rename or edit the legal trademarked name of the event so as to maintain the legal brand name and its integrity.