Dennis Rude, Meg Rude, Allison McCloy, Delaney Manning, and Jahn M70 Limestone Repair Mortar gave twenty young women their first taste of masonry repair — and not one of them flinched.

On Tuesday, June 23rd, Cathedral Stone Products and Genco Masonry Construction packed up their tools and headed to Thomas Edison High School of Technology, in Silver Spring, Maryland, for something a little different from a typical workday: putting Jahn M70 Limestone Repair Mortar in the hands of the future.

The occasion was Camp NAWIC — the National Association of Women in Construction's summer camp — a multi-day program giving young women the chance to get up close with real construction trades, real tools, and real professionals. No textbooks. No videos. Just hands-on work.

Cathedral Stone Founder and President Dennis Rude led two groups of roughly ten campers each through the process of repairing limestone using Jahn M70 Limestone Repair Mortar — one of the most widely trusted materials in the historic preservation and masonry restoration industry. Joining him were his daughter, Meg Rude (Cathedral Stone’s Director of Business Development), and, from Genco Masonry Construction, Allison McCloy and Delaney Manning, both of whom hold Jahn Certification — Cathedral Stone's hands-on training credential required for purchasing and applying certain Jahn repair mortars. In other words, the campers were learning from people who've genuinely earned their stripes with this material.

And the campers? They made an impression.

"They were fearless," said Dennis. "Every one of them finished a patch. Mortar was smeared on faces, in their hair, on their clothes — none of it bothered them." For someone who's spent decades in the trade, that kind of instinctive confidence in a first-timer is something you notice.

Meg Rude was equally struck by the energy of the day. "It was great to see the younger generation of women getting involved in construction," she said. "Camp NAWIC and Thomas Edison High School of Technology are presenting students with top-notch materials and instruction. It was a lot of fun to be a part of the camp."

That combination — professional instruction and real materials — is exactly what makes Camp NAWIC stand out. Women remain underrepresented in the skilled trades, and construction is no exception. Programs like this one meet young women early, before assumptions about who belongs on a job site have had a chance to take hold, and show them — with mortar on their hands and their faces — that this work is for them too.

We're proud to have joined Genco Masonry Construction in making that case, and grateful to NAWIC for supporting such a camp.

Want to learn more about Jahn M70 Limestone Repair Mortar or Cathedral Stone's Jahn Certification program? Visit cathedralstone.com

Cathedral Stone at Camp NAWIC

When the White House Calls