Bounds Awarded C. DeWitt Brown Leadman Award

By Tim O’Toole

Each year, the Mason Contractors Association of America presents the C. DeWitt Brown Leadman Award to an individual who has provided exemplary leadership in advancing the masonry industry. All of the individuals who have received this prestigious award have demonstrated a tireless dedication to our industry through years of volunteer support and hard work. They have helped to ensure that our industry remains vital for the nearly 500,000 people employed through masonry.

MCAA Chairman John Smith presented the 2013 C. DeWitt Brown Leadman Award to Mackie Bounds of Brazos Masonry Inc. in Waco, Texas, during the MCAA Annual Meeting at the 2013 MCAA Convention in Las Vegas.

Bounds grew up in the retail carpet business. He came in contact with the masonry world at the age of 16 while working as a laborer. Since that time, he has always worked in some phase of construction.

Upon graduating, he pursued a career in landscaping, became a landscape designer and at the age of 21 owned and operated a successful wholesale greenhouse and plant leasing business. Bounds moved to Texas in 1980 and worked in Waco for Barsh Construction and Kent Mill & Supply (architectural design and woodworking manufacturer) as an estimator. Throughout this time he remained fascinated with the masonry industry and continued to take advantage of opportunities in masonry.

In 1982, Bounds became Vice-President of Al Brown Masonry (a commercial masonry contractor) and helped the company grow into one of the leading masonry contractors in the southwest United States. In 1989, Al Brown moved to Colorado and Bounds decided that the time was right to pursue his dream. After careful planning and crafting of a business plan (along with a policy and procedure manual) to operate a commercial masonry contracting firm, on March 21, 1989, Brazos Masonry Inc. (BMI) was born. Shortly thereafter, James Clay and Walter Dossett joined as partners in the business and BMI quickly became recognized by their competitors as a leader in the industry.

Bounds also had a strong conviction for giving back to his industry. He became the first subcontractor to be elected to the Board of Directors of the Central Texas AGC and subsequently was elected to the National AGC Board of Directors. In 1995, he was elected as the first President of the Central Texas Mason Contractors Association and was subsequently appointed to the Board of Directors of the Texas Masonry Council. Bounds has remained on the Board of the Texas Masonry Council and has served on many different committees.

Since 1997, Bounds has served on the Board of Directors of the Mason Contractors Association of America including serving as President. As President of the MCAA, he worked to lead the industry back to where it once stood (and that is the priority of every construction project that he is associated with).

Bounds energy, excitement and excellent leadership skills has taken Brazos Masonry Inc. to the top of the masonry industry.

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Tim O’Toole is the Director of Marketing, Education, and Information Technology for the MCAA. He has a Masters in Business Administration from Webster University and has worked in the masonry industry since 2003.

MCAA Safety Awards

By Zach Everett

The year 2012 will be the first year for the MCAA to begin presenting mason contractors with awards for exemplary performance in safety. We are excited about starting this program, due to its importance and need. Safety is overlooked by some contractors for several reasons: cost, time, resources, compounded focus on production, simple ignorance, or possibly many other things. Our goal is for the MCAA Safety Awards to help draw attention to the need and benefits of performing safely.

MCAA Safety Advantage

The safety awards are just one part of a larger plan: The MCAA Safety Advantage program. Mammoth benefits emerge from working safely, from morale and money to workers’ compensation premiums and OSHA penalties. The MCAA Safety Awards program is being rolled out with the MCAA Safety Advantage Newsletter, the weekly safety meetings, the written safety program, the monthly safety forum webinars, and several other Safety Advantage benefits – not to mention joining a network of safety professionals working in the masonry industry. All of this is free to members of the MCAA. 

Safety Award Judging

The Safety Awards will be presented, base on a company’s Incident Rate. This seemed to be the most equitable and best way to judge between contractors. The Incident Rate will be the only criterium, at the present. Many other guidelines could be thrown into the mix: OSHA citations, comprehensiveness of safety policy, superseding of OSHA compliance by company policy, peer review of policies, job site inspections, volunteer safety work, using biodegradable earplugs, non-concrete block, using anti-alien abduction hardhats or a gamut of other qualifiers and disqualifiers. However, we thought that starting simple would be best for the moment. Here are the specifics:

OSHA Record Keeping

The Incident Rate by which the safety awards will be judged is calculated from OSHA logs. All OSHA recordable injuries and illnesses are logged for that year. The number of illnesses and injuries are multiplied by 200,000, and then divided into the total number of hours worked by all employees for the year. This equation gives you the company’s Incident Rate. This should not be confused with the DART Incident Rate, which only takes into account the incidents that result in days away from work.

Getting in the hunt

To have your company considered for the MCAA Safety Awards, simply visit www.masoncontractors.org, fill out the sign-up form, and return it with your 2011 OSHA 300 form. All entries will be tabulated, and the awards will be presented at the MCAA 2012 Mid-Year Meeting in September. 

The MCAA looks forward to this event, and we hope that there is huge participation. Safety is extremely important. Safety helps get more work, keeps workers’ compensation costs down, and, most importantly, allows parents and spouses to come home healthy. Join with us in this small way to reach that goal.

Zach Everett is corporate safety director for Brazos Masonry Inc. and MCAA Safety Committee chairman.