MITA December Newsletter 2015 – Something Festive, Something You’ve Not Seen Before!

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?
Membership! Help to put a trowel in the hands of students. MITA assists hundreds of students to learn masonry skills each school year. These trainees seek careers in the wide range of opportunities with suppliers, yards, contractors, and jobs working as pre-apprentices and apprentices. Kick off your year right and renew your membership annually in January. Here’s WHY

MITA High School Students Get Started On A Pathway to a Career
MITA High School Students Get Started On A Pathway to a Career

SHOUT-OUT!
Special thanks to local masonry contractor Randy Baker who volunteered with MITA to judge the SkillsUSA California State masonry competition, the California Regional Apprentice Skills Challenge, and participates on the advisory committee for career technical education. That’s in his “spare time”. In his real time, the president of R.W. Baker Company worked on a one-of-a-kind restoration project on a 1880’s (centuries) old City of San Diego Historical site and now a museum, Villa Montezuma. It’s a treat for your eyes see video here:

Find out about tours and events If you’re in San Diego, do check the Villa Montezuma Museum website, they will be hosting free tours of the Museum and the neighborhood. For more information on the Museum visit their official page: http://www.villamontezumamuseum.org

DID YOU KNOW?
What’s the latest about the “Skilled and Trained Workforce” changes going in to effect? It’s not just California SB 785. Here’s a look at State Senate (SB) and Assembly (AB) bills passed in to law 2015. It’s a chart of the journeyworker percentiles and requirements provided by Pacific Advocacy Group’s Richard Markuson. If you missed his last webinar, and want to be on the next one, please contact him by email richard@pacificadvocacygroup.com

SB & AB laws passed effective Jan. 1, 2016, courtesy of Pacific Advocacy Group
SB & AB laws passed effective Jan. 1, 2016, courtesy of Pacific Advocacy Group

A GIFT WITHIN A GIFT!
Boys Republic has masonry students – and more!  Contact the Wreath Department at Boys Republic 1-800-833-7769 and order now! Buy a Della Robbia wreath from Boys Republic or gift one to a friend, and you’ll be gifting an opportunity to troubled teens to learn good work and job skills.  Introduced in 1923 originally by Boys Republic founder Margaret B. Fowler, the Della Robbia wreath program serves as a work experience program for students at the non-profit school. The wreaths were patterned after a centuries-old ceramic design created by the Della Robbia family of Florence, Italy. The Della Robbia wreaths program teaches disadvantaged students the value of honest labor. From gathering, storing, and preparing seed pods to fastening them to wreath boughs, and finally shipping the finished Della Robbia, students experience the stress of adult responsibility. See more here and check out their video tour.

Della Robbia Wreaths are handmade by Boys Republic students and hand-made, since 1923.
Della Robbia Wreaths are handmade by Boys Republic students, since 1923.

THANK YOU!
Thank you to suppliers, contractors, and employers helping to train the next generation of masons. We appreciate Independent Masonry and E.G. Masonry Inc. Everyone is invited to join in being a part of MITA. Thank you!