TESTIMONIALS

We have been in the Masonry School Teaching Profession since 1984. Here are some testimonials from students who finished the course:

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 Carmine Bonacci 

hello mr, charlie cummins. iv been doing the mason course every night for over 2 almost 3 months now and i have become very skilled from this dvd and study course . I have been interested in masonry since i was 16 im 24 now anyway my father owns a excavating company where i have ran equipment my whole life and now im ready to start being a mason i absolutely love this trade. in fact one of the biggest masonry construction company owner ( my good friend for a long time) was very impressed with the leads and piers i was producing in my garage. he also said ” i have guys that call themselves bricklayers that cant do this” and i couldn't understand how u could be in this trade and not now this important part.

anyway i wanted to than u so very much for everything , also how can i go about getting my certification card?

i thin my dads a bit jealous because the masonry company owner wants to let me come work for him this winter

thank you, carmine bonacci

p.s. i did call u right after i got your package in the mail like u said but no answer, i couldnt wait i had to go learn how to lay brick n block

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Casey Thebolt, 24 years old:

 ”I took Charlie’s course in 4 months while working a full time warehouse job which paid $6.50 per hour. After completing the course, I went to work in Detroit on a Union job. Two days later, I received a Journeyman Bricklayers Card, and was paid at the rate of $27.63 per hour on my check, plus an extra $12.00 in benefits. I WANTED MORE MONEY and I was seeing, first hand, how desperately this Masonry Industry needs good masons, who have a little common business sense! Now I’m a Specialty Masonry Contractor in Minnesota. Thank you Charlie.”

Charlie’s Comment:
Casey had just got out of the marines. This was in 1996. I tell everyone who takes this course (when I’m asked) ~ I don’t care if you go Union, Non-Union, Commercial or Residential masonry. I preach (Go Where The Money Is) go where you can make the most money. Show Me The Money!! That’s what I teach! Money is not evil – The LOVE of money is evil, and Casey loved the trade more than money. Casey caught on fast. He was a Specialty Masonry Contractor in six (6) months from the time he started the course.

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John Bell, 45 years old:

“This course has allowed me to learn a valuable trade and to do something that I really enjoy doing. I now take pride in what I do. I work for myself as a Specialty Masonry Contractor. Thanks Charlie.”

Charlie’s Comment:
John was not a people person. He didn't like anyone telling him what to do, how to do it, or where to do it. Having said that, he is someone who had to BE THE BOSS. (You learn faster that way). he is now the boss (Specialty Masonry Contractor) and is making all the money he feels like making when he feels like working.

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Charlotte Wright, 18 years old in 1997:
“The best thing that has happened to me since I was laid off at a factory job. This trade is great, especially for women. Thanks Charlie.”

Charlie’s Comment:
I can’t find you! Charlotte is one of the cleanest, slickest, smoothest bricklayers I have every seen, let alone trained. She’s smart and is an excellent leader, foreman (forewoman?).

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Brandon Hunch, 18 years old:
“I dropped out of High School at 16. After taking Charlie’s course, I got a union job as an Improver because of my age. (I could lay brick and block better than most Journeymen Masons I was working with). One afternoon, I stopped for gas, and as a man walked past my truck, he noticed my bricklaying tools in the back of my truck. This man owned a Modular Home Dealership. He told me he was having a very hard time finding a blocklayer to lay his foundation block under his modular homes; after he sold them. He asked me if I’d be interested in laying them for $3.00 each, labor only. He furnished all the equipment, materials, and even furnished a Mason helper. I didn’t have to buy anything. The fact that I don’t even have a High School Diploma or GED education didn’t even come up. I knew that I could easily lay 300-600 or more blocks per day. That’s $900-$1800 per day. That’s a whole lot more than $20 per hour, plus benefits as an Improver Union Bricklayer. I don’t know what percentage of more money that is and I don’t care! i know that $900-$1800 per day is more than $200-$250 a day. I’ll buy my own benefits! Thanks Charlie! 

Charlie’s Comment:
To say that Brandon brought back fond memories of someone very close to me, would be an understatement. All I will say is that I love the kid. He is now a Specialty Masonry Contractor and helping kids just like himself, by giving them a job.

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Ralph Shotwell, 54 years old in 1985:“I was 54 years old when I took this course. Now I am a Specialty Masonry Contractor, in New Mexico.
Thanks Charlie.”

Charlie’s Comment:
Ralph was one of the first people to sign up for training. That was when I thought 54 years was old! Ralph was slow but steady. He had done about 20 different professions, before Masonry and hated all of them. His wife said that him becoming a bricklayer/blocklayer had made a man out of him. Wonder what she meant? She had tears in her eyes when she said it.