
2022 OHIO REGIONAL SERIES
Emilio Dibra Wins the 2022 Ohio Bricklayer 500 Battle
Dibra wins, “Ohio’s Best Bricklayer & Top Craftsman” Titles!
Obetz, OH – The man laid 640 bricks in only one hour without any workmanship errors! Mason Emilio Dibra and his mason tender Charlie Cheatham with United Masonry in Willoughby, OH. The veteran team of Dibra and Cheatham are not newcomers to the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® competition and have a history of being very competitive. During Saturday’s Ohio Regional Series competition held August 8th at Oberfields concrete products facility in Obetz, Dibra put on an impressive masonry performance for 60-minutes while not registering any quality deductions with the event judges. His skills and speed not only earned him the title, “Ohio’s Best Bricklayer,” Dibra also claimed the “SPEC MIX Top Craftsman” award, which goes to the mason with the most-sellable wall. The cash prize for each award earned the dynamic duo $850 and $750, respectively. Beating out 8 other local teams by a brick count of nearly 140 after deductions, Dibra and Cheatham have earned their shot to compete on the biggest stage in masonry, the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 World Championship, in Las Vegas at the World of Concrete tradeshow on January 18th, 2023.
To qualify for the World Championship, hundreds of teams from across North America and Europe will battle to win one of 22 individual regional series events, proving they belong to battle at what’s known as the “Super Bowl of Masonry.” Each team, consisting of one mason and one mason tender, will be given an hour to build the largest and best 26-foot-long brick wall they can, with as few errors as possible. One winning team from each region will advance to compete for over $125,000 in cash and prizes including a new Ford F-250 4×4 Truck, Kubota RTV-X1140, Essick Pro12 mortar mixer and the title, “World’s Best Bricklayer.”
To put Dibra’s regional win into perspective, last year’s World Champion, Cole Stamper, won with a brick count of 760. Although he’s approximately 120 brick shy of champion level productivity, Dibra knows his future will include several practice sessions to get mentally and physically ready for the Las Vegas showdown next January. “It’s a huge honor to win a Regional Series competition and a trip to Vegas for a chance to go head-to-head with world-class bricklayers and hopefully win that FORD truck plus a pile of cash and prizes! I can assure you Charlie and I will be building practice walls and timing ourselves so we can bring home the championship trophy to Ohio on behalf of United Masonry!”
Second place at the Ohio event went to mason John Bingham and mason tender Andy Williams of D&B Masonry in Lake Orion, MI, with a brick count of 500. For their efforts and long road trip, the team earned $700 and a loaded Marshalltown tool bag.
Third place went to mason Kenny Nicely and mason tender Joe Alford of Hicon Masonry in Cincinnati, OH with a brick count of 453. For their award-winning efforts, the team took home $650 and a loaded Marshalltown tool bag. The six remaining teams, four with Lang Masonry & Restoration Contractors based in Waterford, OH, all received $400 for competing, and many participated in the “Heads or Tails” games after the bricklaying competition to test their luck at a chance of taking home a 50” Smart TV.
The value and importance of the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 Regional Series and World Championship competitions play another significant role in the promotion of the masonry craft. In addition to building a sense of pride and passion, the events also serve as an incredible workforce development initiative to create interest among high school students, young adults entering the workforce, and even those individuals in penitentiary systems looking to start a career in masonry.
In 2019, the SPEC MIX organization partnered with other masonry associations to create the Junior SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 Competition. This year of the 22 Regional Series competitions, 12 will also hold Junior BRICKLAYER 500 contests that give high school and masonry apprentices the chance to compete for their state title. The program has proven very successful and highly supported by the Mason Contractors Association of America, school administrators and numerous masonry supply manufacturers and dealers. To learn more visit https://www.specmix.com/jr-spec-mix-bricklayer-500/.
The 21st annual SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 World Championship will be held January 18th, 2023, at the World of Concrete tradeshow in Las Vegas in the Las Vegas Convention Center Bronze Lot. Prizes total more than $125,000 and include a new Ford F-250 4×4 Super Duty truck, Kubota RTV-X1140, Multiquip Pro 12 Mortar Mixer, and other prizes from Hilti, IQ Power Tools, Stabila, Marshalltown, STIHL, Blaklader Workwear, and Belden Brick.
If you have any questions, or would like to set up an interview with any of the competitors, please contact Brian Carney at 612-859-4505 or by email at Brian.Carney@specmix.com
SPEC MIX is your North American source for high quality, factory produced cement-based building materials that are preblended for the construction industry. SPEC MIX products are precisely engineered to meet ASTM and building code requirements. Projects designed for the installation of brick, CMU, stone, stucco or building repair and restoration, SPEC MIX offers a full line of products packaged in 80 & 3,000-pound bags produced with state-of-the-art batching equipment to ensure quality and consistency from start to finish. For optimal jobsite efficiency, safety, and productivity, we provide contractors with numerous silo material mixing systems that maximize a contractor’s cost savings, safety and profitability. For more information, visit www.specmix.com.
2022 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 OHIO REGIONAL RESULTS
PLACE | MASON | TENDER | COMPANY | CITY | RESULT | PRIZE AMOUNT |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1ST PLACE | EMILIO DIBRA | CHARLIE CHEATHAM | UNITED MASONRY | WILLOUGHBY, OH | 640 BRICKS | $850 |
TOP CRAFTSMAN | EMILIO DIBRA | CHARLIE CHEATHAM | UNITED MASONRY | WILLOUGHBY, OH | 640 BRICKS | $750 |
2ND PLACE | JOHN BINGHAM | ANDY WILLIAMS | LAKE ORION, MI | LAKE ORION, MI | 500 BRICKS | $700 |
3RD PLACE | KENNY NICELY | JOE ALFORD | HICON MASONRY | CINCINNATI, OH | 453 BRICKS | $650 |
SEE LAST YEARS RESULTS
ONE MORE CHANCE TO QUALIFY
The new Wild Card Challenge will send additional Regional Series competitors to Las Vegas for the World Championship! At the end of the regional season, the bricklayers that post the top adjusted brick counts could win a FREE ride to Vegas and chance at becoming the 2022 World’s Best Bricklayer!