Retired Mount Pleasant High School masonry teacher Doug Drye was inducted into the Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA) “Masonry Hall of Fame” earlier this month at the MCAA’s Annual Convention at the “World of Concrete” in Las Vegas.
This prestigious recognition is reserved for individuals from across the country who have made extraordinary contributions to the masonry industry as determined by a distinguished selection committee made up of national masonry industry leaders.
Drye retired in 2009 after teaching masonry for almost twenty-four years. At Mount Pleasant High School, he developed a nationally-recognized program that produced a record number of state and national masonry champions and helped guide hundreds of young people into successful careers in masonry and construction.
Among the nation’s masonry instructors, Drye continues to hold the record for producing the most national SkillsUSA/VICA masonry student champions, a total of eight. Drye was introduced at the induction banquet by his 1993 national champion, Ryan Shaver of Mount Pleasant, who now serves as Workforce Development & Training Coordinator for the North Carolina Masonry Contractors Association.
Drye was previously recognized by his masonry teaching peers upon his retirement when the award for top school masonry performance at the Annual North Carolina SkillsUSA Conference was named in his honor, now called the “H. Douglas Drye Award.” Doug Drye and his wife Thyra, herself a retired Mount Pleasant High School teacher, live in Mount Pleasant where they have raised two grown sons. They have four grandchildren.
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.
he Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA) is the national trade association representing mason contractors. The MCAA is committed to preserving and promoting the masonry industry by providing continuing education, advocating fair codes and standards, fostering a safe work environment, recruiting future manpower, and marketing the benefits of masonry materials.
Since 1950, the MCAA has educated, trained, and represented the mason contractor. The MCAA promotes the use of masonry, recruits and assists in training of the industry’s workforce, impacts federal legislative and standard issues affecting contractors, and provides educational programs for the key employees of member firms.