01/19/2026
January 13, 2026 - Our group of Southern Illinois union masonry contractors, along with our valued associate supplier members, met last week during our regular meeting night and invited Bruce Augustin, P.E., Technical Director of the Masonry Institute of St. Louis, to speak. Mr. Augustin presented on Grout: Mixing, Field Testing and Inspection. We are thankful to work side by side with our friends at the Masonry Institute of St. Louis, the Masonry Structural Coalition, and the Mason Contractors Association of St. Louis — including Bruce Augustin, Greg Bryant, Dave Gillick, Allison Bramberger, and Chase Morefield. We are fortunate that you share your time, talent, and knowledge with us on the Illinois side, and we are deeply grateful for your generosity and guidance.
We greatly appreciate the continued participation of our associate member suppliers who attended including Aaron Valencic of Spec Mix; Tom Parker of Raineri Building Supply; Jeff Fiudo of Richards Brick; and Vince Irwin of Irwin Products. Your dedication and engagement play a vital role in the success of our meetings and the strength of our organization.
There is one more group of individuals to thank as we begin the new year: our dedicated masonry contractor members. Thank you for attending last week’s meeting and for bringing key people from your organization, including Dan and Elliot Toenjes of Toenjes Brick; Greg Sangiolo of Sangiolo & Baker Masonry; Chris and Stephanie French of Germann Masonry; Kyle Demsar and Bruce Stein of Diecker-Terry Masonry; Jeff Becker of Becker Masonry; and Don and Paige Gass of Gass Masonry. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO to advance our organization — your active participation and commitment make a lasting difference.
