The winner of the 2007 SkillsUSA National Masonry Contest, Marcus Hefner, is our Masonry Apprentice of the Month. A graduate of West Stanley High School in Oakboro, NC, Hefner won the secondary (high school) division of the national contest held at Bartle Hall in Kansas City, Mo.

Hefner's interest in masonry took time, his instructor reports. As a sophomore in his high school's masonry program, Hefner was an average student until he volunteered for an estimating competition. He won that state competition and, while there, observed the skills portion of the competition first-hand.

"That's when his interest 'kicked-in'," says Timothy Kidd, Hefner's instructor at West Stanley High School. "The next year Marcus volunteered for competitions and started trying real hard. The more he tried, the better he got, In his junior yea, Marcus placed fourth in the State SkillsUSA competition."

"The more he competed, the better got," says Kidd. "He placed ninth in the North Carolina Masonry Contractor's competition for apprentice masons. Then, while doing summer work for McGee Brothers Contractors, Inc., the company sponsored him in the North Carolina Department of Labor competition where he placed first! His first-place finish in the SkillsUSA North Carolina competition qualified him for the national contest which he won.

Marcus Hefner

His high school instructor, Kidd, speaks very highly of Hefner. "Once he became interested, he also became one of my most determined and dedicated students. He received instructions well, and frequently practiced after school. The competitions he participated in require a lot of extra work—extra hours practicing in the lab and studying at home. Marcus did it all, and it paid off for him," concludes Kidd.

Hefner's dedication to excellence in masonry is illustrated by what he wrote on an information form for the national contest. Under "school-related sports, extra-curricular activities and hobbies," Marcus wrote "laying brick in our class."

When he joined McGee Brothers Masonry full time, Hefner joined two other recent winners of the National Masonry Contest. Garrett Hood won the high school division of the contest in 2001 and placed second nationally in 2002. In 2004, Dallas Caudle placed second in the national contest, and he won it 2005. Both are now foremen with McGee Brothers Masonry, a responsibility to which Hefner aspires.

Kevin Hallman supervises all three winning masons at McGee Brothers and 55 masons altogether. "I feel like George Steinbrenner. My team is loaded," Hallman says with a smile.

Of Hefner, Hallman says, "He's extremely intelligent, hard-working and honest. He's a solid citizen and a young man whom our staff likes to be around—both on and off the job.

Hallman concluded by saying, "I want people to know that Marcus is a fine young man with good ethics and, of course, good parents."