Apprentice Contest Awards Best in the West

From left, Reyes Masonry President Augie Reyes, IMI Director of Strategic Programs Greg Stinner, BAC Region 9 Director John Franco, and BAC Secretary-Treasurer Jim Boland.

The 2002 Western States Apprentice Contest held in June drew contestants from California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, and Idaho. Both brick and tile apprentices competed for a range of prizes by building mock-ups judged on the quality of construction.
The tile project, designed by Local 18 CA tile instructor Mike Menegazzi, consisted of a 4' x 4' flat wall with a 30-inch high attached semi-circle column. Set in full mud, the back wall was tiled in 4-1/4" x 4-1/4", while the column received 2" x 2" mosaics topped with bull nose for a finished look.

Brick contestants were each required to build a 35-3/4" x 33-1/2" x 42" brick barbeque featuring struck, brushed, and re-struck joints from a design by Local 4 CA brick instructor James Fagan.

Western States Apprentice Contest Results (Tile) Wah Keung Yui, Local 3 CA 1st Place   Jeff Succuro, Local 18 CA 2nd Place Adan Zavala, Local 18 CA 3rd Place Norman Cuevas, Local 18 CA 4th Place Justin Nabor, Local 3 CA 5th Place

Western States Apprentice Contest Results (Brick) Jose Cabrera Local 3 CA 1st Place   Wesley Jeffery, Local 1 OR 2nd Place Juan Martinez, Local 4 CA 3rd Place Miguel Cabrera, Local 3 CA 4th Place Yuriy Sidorenko, Local 1 WA 5th Place

1st place tile contestant Jeff Succuro, left, accepts his award from Local 18 CA President Chad Boggio, as Local 18 apprentice coordinator Val Anderson looks on.	Tile apprentices from across the West competed in the Western States Apprentice Contest held in Anaheim, California.