EDUCATION
• We hold a series of webinars throughout each year for architects and engineers in the Mid-Atlantic area. They receive AIA and ICC credits for attending plus a certificate of completion. Each attendee receives a PDF of the PowerPoint presentation after attending the presentation (as authorized for some of the sessions). The response this year and in past years was very good!! We normally range from 180+ for any given webinar which is outstanding for what we know of nationally. The following webinars were held in 2025.
September 25, 2025 – Changes in Masonry Codes & Standards: How They Affect Specifications by Nick Lang ~ VP Engineering & Advocacy, Masonry - Concrete Masonry and
Hardscapes Association (CMHA). (210 registered attendees combined)
November 6, 2025 – Delegated Design of Masonry - A Paradigm Shift by Jamie Davis, P.E., LEED AP / Principal ~ Ryan Biggs / Clark Davis Engineering & Surveying, D.P.C. (182 registered attendees combined)
December 3, 2025 – Building Design Considerations to Help Mitigate Active Shooter Incidents by Walter G. M. Schneider III, Ph.D., P.E., CBO, MCP, CFO, MiFireE, FASCE. (203 registered attendees)
• We also held a webinar on March 11, 2025 on the “NEW SRWall 5.0 Software – Static Design” This webinar was presented by Gabriela Mariscal, P.E. ~ Division Engineer, SRW for CMHA (Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association).
EVENTS UPDATES
• Our Annual Bull & Oyster Roast was held March 1, 2026 at Martin's West in Baltimore, MD. A fun time was had by all - with great food, enterrtainment and fabulous prizes!
• The Annual Golf Outing took place on May 12, 2025 at Holly Hills Country Club. We had a terrific attendance and sponsorship for this event. Everyone was excited to see each other! The 2026 Golf Outing will be held May 11, 2026 at Holly Hills Country Club. This event is open to MAMA and PCMA members and non-member guests with foursomes or individual players welcomed.
• The Annual Sporting Clays Event was held October 22, 2025 at Prince Georges County Trap & Skeet. We are planning to hold the event again in October 2026 so stay tuned for the date and logistics. • We held our Annual Design and Craftsmanship Awards Dinner on November 13, 2024 at Guilford Hall Brewery. This very successful event featured a reception, dinner and then the presentation of the 2024 Awards. The Design Awards were presented by Steve Ruiz, AIA - Moseley Architects, who was one of the four architect judges for the Design Awards. The Craftsmanship Awards were presented by the three judges – Curtis Hoover, Retired Masonry Instructor, Center for Applied Technology North | Mike Campanile, Masonry Instructor & Skills USA Co-Advisor, Carroll County CTC | Peter Zwolak, Director of Masonry, Williamson College of the Trades.Congratulations to all of the winners! View the 2024 Winning Design and Craftsmanship Projects.
The 2026 Awards Dinner will be held in November. Details to come. |
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WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
• Our second annual Masonry Skills Challenge apprentice competition for the Mid-Atlantic region was held on November 1, 2025 at Carroll County Career & Technology Center in Westminster, MD. The winners from the 3 skill level categories qualified for a trip to compete at the 2026 World of Concrete Competition in Las Vegas. The competition and trip to Las Vegas were funded by the Concrete Masonry Checkoff in coordination with the Pennsylvania Concrete Masonry Association and Mid-Atlantic Masonry Association.
• We held our annual Fall Masonry Instructors Workshop on September 29, 2025 for instructors in PA, MD and NJ. At these meetings we provide valuable information for the instructors and their students as well as time to share topics of mutual interest.
• MAMA provides a tool bag with tools and a level to each vo-tech school with a masonry program to give to their top student at the Awards banquet at the end of the school year.
• The masonry instructors at the secondary school level in Maryland could very much use the support of our mason contractors to assist on their craft advisory committees, with opportunities for their students and supplies they may need.
PROMOTION
• Promoting the Fall webinars with our “Masonry Tip Postcard” to architects, engineers, and masons in Maryland, Washington DC, Northern Virginia areas. Over 5,000 were mailed to key contacts in the area. Invitation/registration forms were also emailed to those on our email contact list.
• We have created a Masonry Tip postcard highlighting the Study of Initial Cost of Construction – Multi-Residential Structures with Insurance Costs that was coordinated by Executive Director, Jan Boyer, and national in scope. The results are very favorable to masonry wall systems. The website we created, buildingstudies.org, highlights this report as well as insurance related information that you will also want to review. Go direectly to the studies. MAMA mailed hard copies of the postcard to all of the architects on our lists for Maryland, DC, Northern VA – approximately 3,000.
MAMA is part of the Masonry Alliance for Codes and Standards, which is working to get favorable building codes for the masonry industry. Through this coalition group, we are working to stop the impact of the wood industry as well as many other concerns including how masonry is looked upon in the sustainability and resilience world.
Much more is going on to benefit the masonry industry. Many of the things that we do are in coordination with the PA Concrete Masonry Association and therefore benefits the entire Mid-Atlantic market area. |
