In Support of Students in the Field of Automotive Communications
In memory of automotive journalist John Lamm, and in keeping with our mission to celebrate great cars long into the future, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance has established the John Lamm Scholarships to support students in the field of automotive communications.
“In addition to creating and caring for great cars, we need people who can capture their stories and convey them to future generations,” said Concours Chairman Sandra Button. “That’s what John did so well for decades, with camera and pen and computer. He photographed and wrote about great cars — as well as the people who made history with them. He also did all he could to connect car people. He was both a communicator and a community builder.”
John Lamm had a career that spanned nearly 50 years, covering everything from new cars to classics, mainly for Road & Track. He served a stint in the Army and graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Wisconsin before beginning his career with MotorTrend magazine in the late 1960s. In 1975, he moved to Road & Track where he remained for 37 years. He later contributed to Car and Driver and Automobile, and he wrote columns for Car Graphic in Japan and Wheels in Australia.
John first attended the Pebble Beach Concours in 1974, and not once did he miss the event in the many years since then. Initially, he often walked the competition field alongside his mentor and close friend Phil Hill. He went on to serve among our judges for nearly a quarter century. Some of John’s friends and colleagues, as well as Ford Motor Company, have already stepped forward with generous donations to help fund the John Lamm Scholarships, and we thank them.
If you wish to join with us by honoring John in this manner, we invite your contribution, using our regular donation form. Please contact Sandra Button or Judith Ann Raible (at info@pebblebeachconcours.net) if you desire further information. The Pebble Beach Company Foundation, the primary charitable partner of the Concours, has agreed to act as the administrator for the John Lamm Scholarships.
Meet Our Current John Lamm Scholar
Matt Mahan
Topeka, Kansas senior Matt Mahan studies automobiles alongside business at McPherson, hoping to combine his love for cars and photography to make future contributions to the automobile business. Whether it be through his photography or daily driving a pre-war vehicle, Matt hopes to inspire others to have the same passion for keeping classic cars on the road as he does. “Classic cars are important because they are irreplaceable,” Matt said. “The stories and history behind these machines cannot be reproduced and must be protected and preserved.”
