A STORY AROUND EVERY TURN

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 is establishing the John Lamm Scholarships to support students in the field of automotive communications. 

These scholarships will complement the Phil Hill Scholarships and the Jules “J.” & Sally Heumann Scholarships, which the Pebble Beach Concours has already established to support students in the fields of automotive restoration and design. 

“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.

“In tribute to John, and in remembrance of the other automotive journalists we’ve lost in recent years (Denise McCluggage, Paul Ingrassia and Thos Bryant spring to mind immediately), we want to do all we can to encourage the car communicators of the future.”

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. And, as with the Hill and Heumann Scholarships, the first John Lamm Scholarships will go to students at McPherson College in Kansas, where they have a program emphasizing Automotive Communications in addition to programs focused on Automotive Restoration Design, Technology and Management. 

You can make a contribution to the John Lamm Scholarships using our Donation Form. Simply note the donation is in memory of “John Lamm.”