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| Monument Builders of North America is THE voice of memorialists in North America and around the world, continuing to serve members for the betterment of their customers. |
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Memorialization is the art of commemorating the lives of those loved |
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NEWS AND EVENTSMonument Builders Association Forms Task Force to Study Outsourcing of King Memorial to China Dayton, OH (January 16) -- The effort to insure that a national memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is designed and built by Americans received powerful support on January 13 when members of the Monument Builders of North America, a trade association representing more than 740 retailers and manufacturers of monuments, grave markers, and memorials in the United States and Canada, formed a task force to investigate the outsourcing of the proposed $100 million memorial to China. In a presentation at a joint convention of MBNA and Mid Atlantic Monument Builders, Clint Button, U.S. granite industry liaison to King Is Ours, an organization actively opposing outsourcing of the memorial to Chinese interests, requested assistance in the effort to fully repatriate the King Memorial Project, including a 28-foot-tall feature statue of Dr. King that is currently being produced entirely in China. King Is Ours participation in the convention was sponsored by the Barre Granite Association (VT) and the Elberton Granite Association (GA). Following the presentation MBNA, the largest trade association for retailers, manufacturers, and suppliers in the memorialization industry across the U.S. and Canada, formed the task force to investigate the actions of the Martin Luther King National Memorial Project Foundation and the direct outsourcing of the King Memorial without due diligence or an open bid process after receiving $10 million from the United States Congress in 2006. Some MBNA members are concerned direct outsourcing and/or using foreign granite for projects in Washington, DC, may violate federal law. The MBNA King Memorial Task Force plans to report its findings this spring. Mid Atlantic Monument Builders Executive Director Jim Gingrich said, “While imported products are a part of the current [granite] market, projects utilizing federal monies must be produced using a fair and open process.” MBNA President Lorne Raber, CM, agreed, saying, “As an organization, we must work to ensure that our members all have a fair opportunity to participate in such projects, as allowed under the law." The Barre Granite Association (BGA) represents 32 member firms and 1200 employees in Vermont. The Elberton Granite Association (EGA) represents 135 member firms and 1700 employees in Georgia. The Mid Atlantic Monument Builders represents member companies in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Contacts: Mid Atlantic Monument Builders Monument Builders of North America Barre Granite Association Elberton Granite Association |
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