Dale Emerson Wins the Spec Mix Bricklayer 500 Regional Competition!

Dale Emerson claims the “Regional Champion” and “Top Craftsman” titles.

On October 12th, 2023, at the NCMA in Herdon, Virginia, mason Dale Emerson and his tender Chris Plessinger with Emerson Brothers Masonry took the first-place position at the SMBL500 Virginia Regional event. For their first time competing, this team put on quite the performance. Their zero-deduction wall, skills, and speed secured them the first place and top craftsman awards. The Emerson-Plessinger duo laid 546 bricks in the 60-minute competition to secure their tickets to Las Vegas! This team will head to the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® championship taking place at the World of Concrete Tradeshow in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 24th, 2024. With their perfect wall, this team won a combined total of $1,550 in cold hard cash, a 2-foot Stabila Level, a Marshalltown Tool Bag, and two plane tickets to Las Vegas. This team beat out the previous Virginia Champions, James Currier, and Alexis Urbina, who competed in Las Vegas earlier this year. The 2023 Regional Series includes 23 events throughout the United States and Canada. To qualify for the SMBL500 event in Las Vegas, teams will compete at one of the 23 individual regionals and battle for first place to secure their spot in the national competition. The teams consist of one mason and one tender; working on a 26-foot-wide wall, they have 60 minutes to lay as much brick as possible with the fewest craftsmanship errors. These teams are only allowed to compete once at one regional event throughout the year, and each duo that wins first place will advance to what is known as the “Superbowl of Masonry.” At the World Championship, they will compete to win part of $125,000 in cash in prizes, including a Kubota RTV-X1140, Essick Pro12 mixer, and of course, the title, “World’s Best Bricklayer.” The second-place winners at the Virgina regional competition were James Currier and Alexis Urbina with Top Notch Masonry. They laid 474 bricks in 60 minutes, winning them $600 in cash, a 2-foot Stabila Level, and a Marshalltown Tool Bag. Lastly, in third place were Renato Villegas and Arturo Majano with Telligent Masonry. This team laid 314 bricks during the competition, securing them $500, a 2-foot Stabila Level, and a Marshalltown Tool Bag. Both the second and third-place teams have competed in previous Championships but will not be moving forward this year. We hope to see them out at the Virginia Regional event for the 2024 season.

Disclosures:

In 2019, the SPEC MIX organization partnered with other masonry associations to create the JR. SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 Competition. In 2023, of the 23 Regional Series competitions, 15 will also hold a JR. BRICKLAYER 500 contest to allow high schoolers and masonry apprentices to compete for top honors and prizes. The program has proven remarkably 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/.

2024 World Championship: If you are interested in becoming a fan, the 22nd annual SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 World Championship will take place on January 24th, 2024, at the World of Concrete tradeshow in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Las Vegas Convention Center Bronze Lot. At this competition, 25 world-class masons lay it all on the line to claim their portion of the total purse valued at more than $125,000. Prizes include a Kubota RTV-X1140, Multiquip Pro 12 Mortar Mixer. Additionally, there will be other prizes from Hilti, Hydromobile, IQ Power Tools, QUIKRETE Companies, Razor-Back Tools, Stabila, Marshalltown, STIHL, Hohmann & Barnard, and Belden Brick.