Local 1 Oregon Hosts Western States Apprenticeship Contest

BAC Secretary-Treasurer Jim Boland (second row, far right), Executive Vice President Jerry O’Malley (top row, far right), Local 1 OR Business Manager John Mohlis (seated, far right), and Local 1 0R Apprentice Coordinator Rocky Hanes (seated next to Mohlis) join contestants at the awards banquet.

Thirty-eight bricklayer and tilesetter apprentices competed for prizes and bragging rights Saturday, May 26 at the Fifty-First Annual Western States Brick and Tile Apprenticeship Contest. To qualify, finalists from five western states placed either first or second in their Local competitions.

Apprentices had five and a half hours to build a project from a design given to them a month before the contest. Bricklayers constructed a rectangular brick base with a brick arch. Tilesetters constructed a shower, creating a backwall of 4”x 4” tile and trim pieces and a floor of 2”x 2” tile sloping to a drain.

First place Tile winner Jukka Myllymaki (Local 3 CA) finishes grouting his tile project.

“The object of this contest is to judge the apprentices on the quality of their work,” said John Mohlis, Business Manager of BAC Local 1 Oregon, the host of this year’s contest. “We want to see how well the apprentices build the project rather than how fast they build it.”

There were a total of 216 brick and 12 block in the brick project. The tile project had 100 pieces on the wall, and a 3’x3’ mud floor covered by 2”x2” floor tile. First, second, and third place contestants were awarded cash prizes, levels, and trophies.

Brick Winners: First Place: Gustavo Ruvalcaba, Local 7 Colorado Second Place: Laszlo Pataki Jr., Local 1 Oregon Third Place: Travis Wick, Local 3 Washington/Idaho

Tile Winners: First Place: Jukka Myllymaki, Local 3 California Second Place: Aaron Sledge, Local 1 Washington Third Place: Jeffrey Succuro, Local 18 California