Live from the California Masonry Council Design & Expo, Adam sits down with Ken Tejeda of R&R Masonry to explore the power of collaboration, legacy, and advocacy in the masonry industry. As a second-generation contractor, Ken shares how his family's business has evolved over six decades and why the future of masonry depends on contractors, manufacturers, architects, and industry organizations working together with a shared vision.

Ken also discusses the growing role of the California Masonry Council in promoting masonry across the state, the importance of educating architects and owners about the material's long-term value, and why durability, fire resilience, seismic performance, and timeless design continue to make masonry one of the strongest building solutions available. Whether you're a contractor, designer, or industry advocate, this conversation is packed with practical insights on protecting and growing the future of masonry.

In This Episode:

• How family businesses continue to shape the masonry industry
• Why collaboration is the key to growing masonry's market share
• The role of the California Masonry Council in promoting the industry
• Masonry's biggest advantages: durability, fire resilience, seismic performance, and design flexibility
• Why architects and building owners need a better understanding of masonry's long-term value
• How education, outreach, and hands-on experiences can increase masonry adoption
• Why the next generation should get involved and help shape the future of the industry

Connect with Ken:

LinkedIn: Linkedinlinkedin.com/in/ken-tejeda-72470a1a9

Engineering enrollment nationally has dropped 14% in the last couple of years. One concrete program is growing 5-10% a year — and 85% of its students graduate with zero college debt. How?

In this episode, Adam sits down with Jon Huddleston, Director of the Concrete Industry Management Program at Middle Tennessee State University, to talk about where the next generation of the concrete and masonry industry is actually going to come from.

Jon breaks down the scholarship model behind that debt-free graduation rate (hint: giving students a completely free ride might be the worst thing you can do for them), why hands-on competitions like the concrete canoe are non-negotiable for getting students to actually care, and the pitch he's making to the masonry industry specifically — get in the room with these students before someone else does.

If you've ever wondered where your next generation of masons, engineers, and estimators is coming from, this one's for you.

Topics covered:

• The scholarship strategy behind an 85% debt-free graduation rate — and why full rides don't work
• Why masonry needs its own version of the concrete canoe or bowling ball competition
• How a program with no household name is growing against a national enrollment decline
• The case for industry-funded student travel to conferences and symposiums
• Why 95% of students need to see and touch it before it clicks
• Jon's advice to every prospective student on networking, internships, and staying off their phones
• A NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center project that hints at where the material is headed next

Connect with Jon Huddleston:
Concrete Industry Management Program at Middle Tennessee State University: https://www.mtsu.edu/program/concrete-industry-management-concrete-contracting-concentration-b-s/

Learn more about the Northwest Masonry Institute:
https://masonryinstitute.com/in-the-mix

Daniel "Mr. Jamez" Trippel's masonry career started with a rock through a church window. His buddy threw it and a couple at that church happened to own a masonry supply yard that needed a yard guy. Twenty-some years later, that accidental first job has become a career spanning hands-on craftsmanship, business ownership, and now commercial architectural sales with Mutual Materials, where he's just 30 days in and already calling himself "the tip of the spear" for getting masonry specced on projects.

In this episode, Daniel tells Adam the whole unlikely story: starting as a laborer loading trucks, launching his own masonry company at 23, building it for five years — and walking away when the 2008 crash took his builders down with it. Now, after two decades installing the end product, he's on the other side of the process, putting samples in front of architects and designers so that somewhere down the line, a mason has a job to go to.

Adam and Daniel also run the masonry industry through a SWOT analysis: why durability is masonry's biggest sustainability advantage, why the industry's segmentation is its own worst weakness, and why the biggest threat isn't competing materials — it's misinformation about what modern masonry can do. Plus, the story behind the "Mr. Jamez" persona, and why a made-up name might be the smartest career move in the trades.

In This Episode:

• How a rock through a church window accidentally launched a masonry career
• Starting a company at 23 — and why hiring his dad was the whole point
• What the 2008 crash taught Daniel about surviving in the trades
• Why tilt-up isn't actually faster: the 28 curing days nobody counts
• "The most green building is the one that's already built" — masonry's real sustainability case
• Why post-1997 masonry buildings meet seismic standards (and the misconception that won't die)
• What 1,000-year-old buildings in Munich and Prague can teach Northwest architects
• Why showrooms beat spec sheets: getting materials into designers' hands
• 78 masonry associations pulling in different directions — and the push to unite them
• The origin of "Mr. Jamez," and why building a persona can change your career trajectory

Connect with Mr. Jamez:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mr_jamez_/

Website: https://www.mutualmaterials.com/

Learn more about the Northwest Masonry Institute:

https://masonryinstitute.com/in-the-mix