MCAA Masonry Hall of Fame 2019: A Sit Down With Four Inductees
Words: Cass Stern
Words: Cassandra Stern and MASONRY Magazine
Photos: Bruce Starrenburg
On Thursday, January 24, 2019, during the World of Concrete and MCAA Annual Convention 2019, MASONRY was able to sit down and conduct some face-to-face interviews with four of the six pillars of the masonry community being honored: Alonza āACā Lewis, Angelo Tedesco, Kenny Foeste, and Mike Sutter. These four men are powerhouses in the masonry industry, and took some time from their busy schedules at the convention to reflect back on their previous careers and experiences and how just meaningful this honor is to them.
Alonza āACā Lewis
Instructor- Spring Valley High School/Lexington High School/Midlands Technical College President of VICA (now SkillsUSA)
MCAA World of Concrete 2019
MASONRY Magazine: First, Iād like to congratulate you on being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Alonza Lewis: Thank you very much.
M.M: How did you get started in the masonry industry?
A.L.: I got started in the masonry industry when I was in high school. I donāt know how much you know about South Carolina, but I grew up in a rural part of South Carolina. Which was in Sumter Co. it was basically farmlands, and I grew up on a farm. When I was in the ninth grade, we had two choices: either we take agriculture, or we take up brick masonry. Those were the only two options we had, and by growing up on a farm, I didnāt want to continue in the farming business so I chose brick masonry. Thatās how I got started at it, in the ninth grade and Iāve been doing it ever since.
M.M.: Can you tell us how you got to where you are now?
A.L.: When I graduated from high school. I went to Denmark Tech, which was in Denmark, South Carolina, and I took up brick masonry. I got an Associate Degree in brick masonry, after graduating from Denmark Tech. I went into the masonry business as an apprentice. Let me backup just a little bit, Denmark Tech was four semesters in total. So, it was a two-year course, and in my fourth semester I was able to go out on co-op. Which meant I didnāt have to go to class at the school. I was able to work in an apprentice program, and I worked my way up to where I am today. Now, there were some lumps in the road, and there were some bruises, but we worked through it. āÆ
M.M.: Can you tell us about some of those lumps and bruises?
A.L.: Iāll back up just a little bit farther from that. After going through my apprentice program, there was a gentleman that came to me and wanted me to [enter into a] partnership with him. I did, and we worked fine together. When I say the lumps and the bruises, we [our company] grew kind of fast and we brought in a third partner. This was when our personalities didnāt click because I take a lot of pride in my work, and that third guy was all about production. So, thatās one of the things that kind of drew us apart, and then I spilt off and went on my own.
M.M.: Were you still doing your business?
A.L.: Yeah, I continued to work my business, and then I got to the place where I couldnāt find the caliber of masons that I wanted to work for me, because one of my trademarks was pride. So, I had an opportunity to go into teaching masonry. Thatās when I found my niche and my love, because I was able to put my trademark on a lot of those students. When they got out of high school, they were able to take pride in their work, and do the things that I would like to be done as if they were working one of my jobs. As a matter of fact, I was able to have some of the students do work for me part-time while I was teaching. That was a real rewarding part of the masonry business for me.
M.M.: What is it like training and teaching the next generation in the masonry industry?
A.L.: Well, it was good when I first started, because the kids back then in the early 70s, when I started teaching are so much different than the kids today. The work ethic was different, I guess that has a lot to do with their parenting, and they really wanted something out of life. This is not so much the case today. The kids are tied up with social media, video games, and the work ethic is just not there.
Thatās one of the hardest things now, the younger generations that are going into the masonry business, arenāt getting motivated to do quality work and maintain the pride that it takes to become a professional bricklayer. Thatās hard, [for] a lot of them, now itās about the quick dollar, and they donāt really appreciate the legacy of the masonry business. So thatās very, very difficult now. When you find one that has a lot of pride in his work, good work ethic, those are the ones that you try to hold on to, and motivate to continue in the business. But itās very difficult now.
M.M.: What are some of the challenges youāve faced?
A.L.: One of the challenges Iāve faced is getting qualified bricklayers, getting enough bricklayers, because believe it or not, thereās a big shortage of masons. Iām up in age now, and I get calls all the time about masonry jobs, and one of the things that they say is āyour name came to me, are you still doing that kind of work?ā They just canāt find masons, so itās very frustrating, and very difficult. Thereās work out there, but we need more masons.
One of the things thatās very disturbing to me is that a lot of the schools these days donāt offer masonry training. When I started teaching masonry there were a lot of masonry training programs. in South Carolina. Today, I would imagine itās probably 10-15, maybe at the most. They canāt supply the masons that we need. Some of the programs. have closed down, but not by the masonās choice. They were forced to be closed because there are other programs. they want to replace and needed the space.
Computers are good, you canāt operate without computers, but a lot of it is moving in that direction. Computers canāt build masonry, the canāt build things. So, thatās one of the things that we face, and itās very disturbing knowing how many masons we need and we just canāt find them.
M.M.: What advice would you give to someone interested in getting involved in this trade?
A.L.: If you canāt find a masonry school to go to, there are two options. Find out where the local masonry contractors associations are, attend those meetings, talk to some of the other bricklayers in your area that know of some of these training programs. Or mason contractors associations, latch on to a very good company, and work your way up.
Go to the classes after hours, be very focused on the job, work hard as a helper, and get your work done. When you get an opportunity to spread mortar for masons, pay attention to what heās telling you and work your way up. By doing it that way, youāll learn it on the job, and develop a sense of pride. Always keep a positive attitude when someone tells you something, that will be a lasting learning experience for you.
M.M.: Tell us about some of your proudest moments.
A.L.: Some of my proudest moments are when I met Jesus Christ, when I met my wife whoās the love of my heart, and when I had my first child, my daughter, sheās another love of my heart. Then my son came along. Iām so proud of those folks, my family. Some of the other proud moments are getting to the job, when you can ride by a building and it is still standing, and you had a part in constructing that building. Those are some of the proudest moments Iāve had. Then the other thing for me is when you see your students are becoming successful in life, when you meet them and theyāre still talking about the part I had in instilling and motivating their lives. Those are some proud moments that you donāt ever forget.
M.M.: What would you tell your younger self?
A.L.: Be more patient, develop more of a positive attitude at an earlier age, [and] when it comes to working with your elders. Donāt think you know everything at a younger age because you don't, and be a good listener.
M.M.: What does being inducted into the Hall of Fame mean to you?
A.L.: Oh, it means the world. For me to do resume, but more than that, a biographical sketch of myself, and a committee to look at just some of my accomplishments, and think enough of me to induct me in the Hall of Fame means the world to me. I just canāt think of anything at the moment that is greater than that. Just like a football player winning the national championship or the Superbowl, it puts you up on the top and I really feel good about it. Iām thankful to my peers who thought enough of me to induct me.
M.M.: What is your legacy?
A.L.: Knowing that youāve done some great things, when you get a phone call, and a person wants you to do a job for them and you say, āwell Iām busy and canāt get to it for a period of time.ā But theyāre willing to wait until youāre available to get to their work because they know youāre not going to cut corners, youāre not going to take short cuts, and itās going to be done right. So, to sum that up, my legacy is always doing my best at what I try to do. No shortcuts. Be your best, and be proud of your work. āÆ
Angelo Tedesco
MCAA World of Concrete 2019
Founder, President and CEO of A. Tedesco Masonry, Inc.
M.M.: First I want to congratulate you on being inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. Such an exciting time.
Angelo Tedesco: Thank you!
M.M.: Tell us a little about how you got started in the masonry industry.
A.T.: I was working at a machine shop and I didnāt like it. So, I went to work for my brother, who was already a mason. I started from the bottom as a laborer, and then the opportunity came around and I said I wanted to be a bricklayer. He said I was too old to be an apprentice, so two weeks later I joined a masonry union. I didnāt know anything about masonry, you know?
I started as a laborer, and I worked my way up, to learn as much as I could. I worked for different companies, and there wasnāt much work. So, I started to look for work for myself. After a while, my son Angelo Jr., who was thirteen years old at the time, didnāt want to go to school. Anytime he had the chance he would come with me to work. Even when he went to high school, he wanted to be involved in the business. I started to work for myself, you see? I worked hard as best as I could to make a living, because I had my wife and four kids. It was hard to make a living, and I did the best I could. I think Iāve done very good for my life.
M.M.: How did you start your business?
A.T.: I start finding small jobs, and then I went along, you know. Iāve done my work the way itās supposed to be done, and because of that I had a good reputation, and I started to get bigger jobs. As I went along, I learned the business. My two sons were living far away, but they come back home and learned to be bricklayers. Then we were all working in the family business and it started to grow. My daughter then joined the business and she is a secretary in the company. So, they are all in the business.
M.M.: Have you faced any challenges in the industry?
A.T.: It was hard for me when I first started, you know. I worked 10 to 12 hours a day, and when I started working for myself, and I became really good and did the work the way itās supposed to be done. I became real busy and Iām one of the bigger contractors in Vermont where I live.
M.M.: Tell us about some of your proudest moments.
AT: So, Iām very happy, with what Iāve done, you know? I raised my family, four kids, my wife, and Iām all set up. I wish everybody would do the same thing I did, you know? Right now, my kids theyāre doing very well. I keep telling them: work, make a living, and do the work the best you can.
M.M.: What would you tell your younger self?
A.T.: I would tell myself, I have to do the best I can in my life. Because, I didnāt have anything when I came to this country, and this country is a beautiful if you want to work. Iāve done all kinds of work, and Iām very proud of the things I've done, Iāve done everything the best I could, anytime Iāve had a job I didnāt get to make money, Iād get the work done the way it had to be done, this is how I earned a good reputation.
M.M.: What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the masonry industry right now?
A.T.: Right now, itās the hunt for good masons, because you canāt get enough people to work in the trade, and no one wants to do that kind of work anymore. Years ago, there was a lot of people who wanted to do this work, nowadays you have a hard time with the people who can work. Then you have a hard time getting the people to work. Thatās the challenge right now.
M.M.: What advice would you give to someone interested in getting involved in this trade?
A.T.: No matter what you do, you have to do things right, and you have to work to make a living. A lot of people say you have to learn the business as you go along. But nowadays young guys want to get paid first before they learn anything thing. Itās not like it was years ago, everybody was happy when they found a job. Today itās different.
M.M.: What does being inducted into the Hall of Fame mean to you?
A.T.: I am very proud of my life, Iām very proud of what Iāve done and accomplished, and I wish all my kids will do the same things as Iāve done. So far, theyāre doing very well, and because, this one over here [gestures to son off-screen] heās named Angelo Jr. He took my place and he knows what to do, I taught him everything I know, and he teaches his brother the same way. See? I have one son who is in the field, another in the field and figures, and one in estimating. They all know how to do masonry work, they all have learned masonry work, and my daughter is a secretary in the company.
M.M.: What is your legacy?
A.T.: Everything good that Iāve done in my life, you know?. Iāve done very well, been married 56 years. My wife and I, will be celebrating 57 years in April. I remember the good memories in my life and everything, I have a nice family and everything. āÆ
Kenny Foeste
Owner and President of Kenneth E. Foeste Masonry, Inc.
MCAA World of Concrete 2019
M.M.: Congratulations on being inducted into the Hall of Fame!
Kenny Foeste: Thank you so much.
M.M.: Tell us a little bit about how you got started in the masonry industry?
Kenny Foeste: Well, I was working on a tow boat on the Mississippi River near Cape Girardeau in Missouri. My wife and I just got married, and about three days after we got married, they called me back on that boat. I rode the boat 30 days, and then weād get off fifteen. I got my fifteen days off, and I said Iām going to look for me a better job. Sure enough I found one, as a hod carrier, which is now our mason tenders, at two dollars an hour, and I stuck with that tilā I became an apprentice bricklayer.
M.M.: How did you start your business?
K.F.: Ok, I served three years as an apprentice and became a journeyman bricklayer, and I worked in Southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri, and travelled some. Then in about 1973 this old contractor I was working for gave me an old worn out mixer. So, I drug it in on the carport, put a new shaft in it, made paddle blades out of car tires and I commenced to contracting, doing houses. In about ā75 I bought a forklift and from then on, we went on, and we have a couple cranes now and everything is going well.
M.M.: Have you faced any challenges in the industry?
K.F.: Yes, the biggest challenge we ran into was when we belonged to the union and operating engineers claimed running of the forklifts. So, with some help from other contractors we had to take them to court, and we got help from the MCAA, and we were able to go back with the mason tenders on the lifts.
M.M.: Tell us about some of your proudest moments.
K.F.: Oh, the proudest was, way back in ā94, my son won The Fastest Trowel on the Block, and won a new truck. Then turned around and won it again in 1996. Then, my grandsons have won the SPEC MIX 500 locally, and are now going to proceed in it tomorrow here in Vegas.
M.M.: What would you tell your younger self?
K.F.: Donāt get too big too fast, and a cheater never wins and a winner never cheats.
M.M.: What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the masonry industry right now?
K.F.: People not coming to work on time, not being interested in how their work looks, and just having a lack of training.
M.M.: What advice would you give to someone interested in getting involved in this trade?
K.F.: Itās a good industry, just come to work on time, and work steady.
M.M.: What does being inducted into the Hall of Fame mean to you?
K.F.: Oh, itās the greatest thing Iāve ever received. I just canāt hardly believe it. I donāt know, itās just unbelievable. I feel like Iāve made my goal, worked for 50 years and I got her.
M.M.: What is your legacy?
K.F.: Well, I guess winning those laborers to run the forklifts, taking them to court, we had been battling and there was destruction done to our equipment, and that's all behind us, we won.
M.M.: Would you like to say anything else?
KF: Well, I keep everybody working pretty hard at Foeste Masonry. We have a couple of sayings or mottos we go by, and one of them is āif youāre not spreading your mortar by seven, Iām gonna send you home by eleven,ā and the other one is āyou can lay āem fast, you can lay āem slow, but if you donāt lay āem to the line, you gottaā go.ā
Michael Sutter
MCAA World of Concrete 2019
Former President/CEO Sutter Masonry
M.M.: Well, first, congratulations on being inducted to the Hall of Fame.
Michael Sutter: Thank you, Bronzella
M.M.: To get us started, why donāt you tell us a little bit about how you got started in the masonry industry?
M.S.: Well, I got started during High School. All throughout junior high and high school, I was sure I was college bound, but by the time I was ready to start my senior year I realized that really wasnāt an option. Financially it wasn't, but academically it was. So, I needed another path. They had just started a vocational program, going into my Senior year. This is where I would go to school half a day and then they would actually help me get a job, and I would work the last half of the day. I thought, well that's perfect, get out of school half day and earn some money, what's better than that?
So, I took that route, and I had an interest in masonry because my father worked for a mason contractor. Not in the trade though, he was a purchasing manager for a large mason contractor in Cleveland, Ohio. I had that interest, so sure enough, I got into the vocational program and I started working for a local home builder. This home builder self-performed many of the trades on their houses, which is very uncommon nowadays, but back then it wasnāt.
I was on the masonry crew, and worked on the basement crew. I only weighed about 125 pounds, but I was on a basement crew in the middle of the winter. I was actually carrying a hod, nowadays many people don't even know what a hod is. But thatās what was used to carry mortar on your shoulder. So I was told I could only carry a half a hod because the hod weighed as much as I did. I started working in basements, walking down muddy planks with a hod on my shoulder, thatās how it all started.
M.M.: You said, you started the vocational program in your senior year, so would that be considered an apprenticeship or did you graduate and then go on to an apprenticeship?
M.S.: Yeah, that was an apprenticeship. I graduated, and then tried to get into the apprenticeship program, but they werenāt accepting any true apprentices at the time. So, I was able still to get into a program, but it was called Apprentice Improver, meaning I already had experience. I actually had some time on the wall, I had some trowel experience so I was able to skip my first year of apprenticeship, and just serve the last two as an Apprentice Improver, and then I received my journeyman's card.
M.M.: Wow. Thatās awesome, you kind of accelerated through the first year?
M.S.: Right. Itās not what I wanted, I wanted to start my first year like everybody else did and go to school one day a week. But, that wasn't an option, and it worked out to be a pretty good deal because I was able to skip my first year, and also skip my first year wages and go right up to my second year wages, so that was good too.
M.M.: So, how did you start your business? How did you go about that?
M.S.: My masonry company? Well, just like I talked to all the first-year apprentices when they start the program every year, just like I did last Saturday, I said ādonāt be satisfied with just the level that youāre in. Now, most of youāve succeeded going from a mason tender to getting into the apprenticeship program.
Ok, so donāt be satisfied with getting into the apprenticeship program, you have to graduate and then become a journeyman. Once youāre a journeyman, donāt be satisfied with just being a journeyman, always be looking at the next level and how are you going to get there. Youāre given the opportunity, now take advantage of it.
So thatās what I did throughout my career, once I served my apprenticeship, became a journeyman, I was already looking at the foreman. Following everything he did, asking as many questions as I could, how do I become a foreman? Well, then I became a sub-foreman, which was the next step with a large company like that. After sub-foreman, I moved right into foreman after a year or two, and then once I became a foreman I really loved it but I wasn't satisfied with that.
Whatās my next step? The next obvious step for me was to become a superintendent, which I did, which oversaw the foreman, and then the step after that I wanted to learn how to estimate and to become a project manager. So I did that, and was successful on my journey through my career path, but then after that there was really no place else for me to go but to own my own company.
So, my wife and I started our own company with virtually almost nothing, we scraped every penny together we could. Started our company with no work lined up, nothing, and I left a very good high-paying job to do this because thatās what I wanted to do. Once we did that, there was no going back, and twenty-seven years later we just sold our company a few months ago.
M.M.: Oh wow, that is amazing, thatās kind of like a Cinderella story, itās so great, I think. It must have made you very proud to start your own business and have it kinda take off, thatās awesome.
M.S.: Weāre very proud that we started from scratch, with absolutely nothing, with no work lined up, and we did it all ourselves.
M.M.: Tell me a little bmore about some of your proudest moments?
M.S.: Well, my absolute, most proud moment was when my daughter graduated college. Sheās our only child, there was no sons to teach the trade to, so she wanted to be involved in the construction industry and she wanted to be involved in masonry. She went to Arizona State University, graduated with a construction management degree, worked for a general contractor for a period of time, and then came into the family business. So, both when she graduated was a very proud moment, and when she came to work for us was a proud moment.
M.M.: Tell me about some challenges you may have faced in the industry?
M.S.: Well my biggest challenge Iām sure is most contractorās biggest challenge, is when we went through the Great Recession [in 2008]. It was very, very hard times, a lot of businesses, a lot of family owned businesses just like ours that we are friends with didn't make it through the Recession. We had, not low debt, but we had zero debt, and thatās what carried us through that Recession, but it was still very difficult. āÆItās fun to build the business, itās fun to grow the business, itās not fun to cut the business. We had about 200 employees, and we had to cut back to thirty employees, and thirty employees wasn't enough to even pay overheard.
So, we were losing buckets of money, didn't know how we were going to stop losing, didn't know if we were going to make it through, didnāt know if we wanted to make it through. When you start pouring your own money into the company over a long period of time, youāre thinking at some point we have to stop this, but a good friend of mine from my peer group told me, okay, let's think about it. You started your business with nothing and grew to 200 employees, well now you have thirty or thirty-five. What did your company look like back then when you had thirty or thirty-five employees? You were profitable back then with thirty or thirty-five, so you have to do that again. He was absolutely correct, and we cut everything back to where we looked just like we did when we had thirty or thirty-five employees originally. And we were able to pull through the Great Recession.
M.M.: So now do you have the 200 employees or more?
M.S.: We have about one hundred employees...well, we did, but I just sold my business. But we built it back up to about one hundred employees, and thatās a really comfortable area for us.
M.M.: So, what would you tell your younger self?
M.S.: My younger self? I would tell myself, stay focused. You have a plan, stick to the plan, and just stay focused, keep your head down and keep working hard.
M.M.: Thatās probably the best advice I would give to my younger self too. So what do you think is the biggest challenge or challenges facing the masonry industry right now?
M.S.: Well, obviously, I think everybody out there in the Convention would tell you the same thing: it is workforce. So, we have two options: we can sit around and complain about the workforce thatās not there, and everybody realizes that, or we can do something about it. Us in Arizona, we decided to do something about it, and we hit the high schools very heavily, that was where we needed to get these young men and women from, to come in to the industry. I committed a lot of time and money there recruiting and training in High Schools, and last year was our first success and it was huge, and this year it is even bigger, the success weāre having in the High Schools and the people weāre getting out of there.
All it takes is a little time, spend it with these young men and women and let them know what their opportunity is. Give them that opportunity, and then itās up to them what they do with it, but give them that opportunity. They're a sponge, absorbing all this information youāre giving them, they love the training, they love the trade, and they realize that they can make a good living in this trade for their families.
M.M.: What advice would you give to someone interested in getting involved within the trade?
M.S.: Come on out! Come test the waters. Yeah, itās hard work, in Phoenix youāre out there in the summer and itās really, really hot, youāre out in Chicago (where youāre from) and itās really, really cold, and itās hard work. Itās heavy work and you get dirty, but it is so gratifying when you get done with a job, and years later you can drive by with your family, or your girlfriend, and you can say āI built that.ā
M.M.: Yeah, Iāve noticed that a lot. I know whenever we interview anyone, they always say the best part of the industry is being able to drive past a project or a building that youāve done and say āI built that.ā
M.M.: What does it mean, being inducted into the Hall of Fame for you?
M.S.: What it means to me? I donāt even know if I can describe how much it means to me, because so many of the people that are currently in the Hall of Fame, I know so many of them, and Iām friends with many of them, but I admire all of them. To be included in that group, to have my name in that group with them, is overwhelming. āÆ
M.M.: So tell me, whatās your legacy?
M.S.: I dont think itās up to me to say what my legacy is, it's up to others, but I can tell you what I could hope for. I would hope, not the fact that we started our business ourselves, and grew it to a large successful masonry company, and provided for so many families through that business ā Iām proud of that. But itās not that, and probably not that I was able to be in the leadership position in MCAA, although those were fantastic years, and I'm honored to have been chosen to do that. Probably, I would want my legacy to be that I gave opportunity to young men and women, the same opportunity that I got.
M.M.: Thanks so much for taking time to chat with us Mike, and congratulations again.
ABOUT THE MASONRY HALL OF FAME: The Masonry Hall of Fame was created by the Mason Contractors Association of America to recognize and award individuals who have dedicated their lives to the masonry industry.
HALL OF FAME CRITERIA
- Individuals must have had a major impact on the masonry industry, not necessarily with just the MCAA.
- Nominations must state the significant accomplishments of the individual nominee.
- Individuals must have been or be in the industry for a minimum of 25 years.
- Individuals cannot be a current executive officer of the MCAA.
- Masonry instructors can only be submitted by the National Masonry Instructors Association.
- Submissions will be reviewed and voted upon by the Hall of Fame Selection Committee.
- Nominees must receive two-thirds of the eligible votes in order to be accepted into the Hall of Fame.
- Involvement in the industry is open. Nominees can be but are not limited to contractors, employees, instructors, architects, engineers, and association staff.
- Each recipient will receive one plaque.
- A high-resolution photo must be provided for each inductee to be used on the Hall of Fame plaque.