Under the HOOD
The Newsletter of RPM Foundation • Yes, She Can!
Message from the President The “Bring Back Shop Class” movement – started by The Collectors’ Foundation in January 2012 – got the national conversation going about the void created by the changing philosophy of education in the late 1970s and 1980s. With the focus on four years of college for all students, schools minimized hands-on education in the trades and started closing shop programs at the high school level. This cultural shift caused education for artisans and trade workers to be overlooked, which matters to RPM Foundation. It has shaped who we are and what we do. There are a vast number of restoration positions being vacated by retiring workers and an inadequate pipeline of workers to replace them. Addressing this throughout the 2000s, some schools filled the void with robust automotive programs in expansive state-of-the-art facilities, funded mostly by large corporations and training large numbers of students as automotive service technicians. East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT, Mesa, AZ) is a good example of a county vocational program servicing 10 school districts and offering an outstanding automotive program with 200 students in an exceptional facility.
PHOTO GALLERY
Abigayle Morgan (hometown: Lansing, IL) is enrolled in the McPherson College Automotive Restoration Technology Degree Program. She was The Kids' Choice Award Winner at the McPherson College Annual Car Show on April 30, 2016! Abi is an RPM scholar and a summer intern at LeMay America's Car Museum.
RPM continues our longstanding tradition of proactively looking for young people interested in collector cars and schools teaching automotive restoration & preservation. We know that if a school has 200 automotive technology students, 10-20 of them have “heritage in their hearts” – and they deserve our time and attention to learn from us about career possibilities and what they need to do to get shop-ready. By sharing resources and mentoring high schools and colleges, RPM is inspiring, influencing and shaping restoration curriculum across the United States, and impacting the educational pipeline upstream and downstream. There is a lot to do, and we’re getting it done! See you along the way,
Michele Fox, founder of Riding With Us (Brooklyn, NY), in front of her classic 1968 Camaro. Riding With Us offers scholarship programs and provides educational and mentorship opportunities in the automotive field to empower young people to give back to their community. Michele works with local public high schools that have existing automotive programs and offers after-school programs to students interested in restoration & preservation.
Diane Fitzgerald, President
“I love representing the RPM Foundation because it's all about opening the eyes and doors of opportunity for young people into our world of restoration, preservation, and racing! Students, teachers, historians, shop owners, car collectors – virtually everyone is part of this important initiative. Get on board and support RPM!” Lyn St. James judging the race car class at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance
—L yn St. James, Indy Racer, RPM Ambassador since 2014
Sarah Hebard is RPM’s Interim Executive Assistant and car-guy in training. She graduated from DePaul University (Chicago, IL) in 2014 with a double bachelor’s degree in English and Art, Media & Design. It was through volunteer work as a writer that Sarah met Diane Fitzgerald, who introduced her to the exciting world of restoration and collector cars – not to mention manual driving!
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Under the HOOD: In the Spotlight RPM SHOLAR SPOTLIGHT Ericka Deboer, Clover Park Technical College (Lakewood, WA) BY TYLER SCOTT Ericka DeBoer is an artist, and her canvas is a car. The Clover Park Technical College Automotive Restoration and Customization student knows some people will hear that and look at her funny, but it’s true. “I’ve always doodled with and enjoyed designing cars, giving different looks to vehicles,” Ericka said. “I’ve always liked the art part of cars.” It’s that passion that drives Ericka in her work at CPTC. Growing up she was drawn to cars, but she never had the opportunity to work with them. “It was a ‘you’re a female; you’re not to be around cars’ sort of deal,” Ericka said. At CPTC, Ericka has worked through prerequisites and discovered restoration and customization as her calling. She found a job at renowned restoration shop Classic Reflections Coachworks (Puyallup, WA) in January, and now gets a chance to do what she loves both at school and at work. None of that would be possible for her without the CPTC Automotive Restoration and Customization program and its instructors. In many ways, they’ve been more than instructors to her over the past two years, and their impact has changed her life. As Ericka prepares to wrap up her time at CPTC, she’s working on customizing her 1993 Chevrolet Blazer in the shop. But one project remains in the back of Ericka’s mind: a 1963 Split Window Corvette Stingray. That was her mom’s dream before she passed away from cancer when Ericka was young, and Ericka carries that dream forward. She expects it to be a lengthy restoration project, her most personal canvas.
Ericka DeBoer is an RPM scholarship recipient at Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood, WA. She is working on restoring and customizing her 1993 Chevrolet Blazer, one year before it reaches “vintage” status in Washington State.
DONOR SPOTLIGHT Patti Engstrom (Chicago, IL) Patti Engstrom is not a car-guy, but she believes in the importance and need for hands-on education, which is why she supports the positive impact and opportunities that RPM Foundation provides to students across the United States. Patti first learned about RPM when she attended America’s Automotive Trust’s The Drive Home in January 2016 at the Collectors’ Car Garage in Chicago, IL. Several young RPM scholars and restoration program alumni spoke at the event, which Patti says really hit home. She has adult nephews who are mechanically-inclined and could have greatly benefitted from the kinds of experiential-learning programs and curriculum that RPM supports. Patti made a generous initial donation that day and more than doubled it in 2017 in honor of her mother, Frances, who passed away five years ago. “We had just sold her house, and right when I got my portion of the proceeds I found an RPM flyer in the mail. I thought, ‘my mother would have loved that,’ and decided to donate the proceeds to RPM.”
Patti Engstrom and Bill Evans at America’s Car Museum (Tacoma, WA) on their first visit to ACM during a private tour with Scot Keller.
Patti’s mother was a generous and caring woman who, like Patti, was a huge advocate of education outside the classroom and a supporter of opportunities that allowed students to pursue their artistic passions while working towards a successful career in a field they loved. “I think that giving these opportunities to young people who are mechanically inclined – who have a passion for it and a need for it – is the perfect combination. It’s about cultivating young people's skills, which gives them opportunities. Well done, RPM!”
RPM supporter Patti Engstrom and her mother, Frances Carr, in 2009.
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Under the HOOD: In the First Person Emily Hatsigeorgiou (Ann Arbor, MI) Washtenaw College Automotive Restoration Student and RPM Intern Automotive technology has greatly affected the world today, yet it is an often overlooked piece of history. General automotive programs have been underfunded for some time now, and there are only a small number of restoration programs available. McPherson College is among only a few true restoration schools and it is a highly selective program. Simply put, there are not enough restoration programs available for the growing number of interested students. Symposiums* – like the one held at The REVS Institute in Naples, FL – would be a great step towards ensuring that collector car preservation is left in young, capable hands. Education starts young, so getting high schoolers or even middle schoolers interested in the restoration community with engaging, educational programs will help jumpstart their interest and knowledge about restoration and the automotive industry. Educating older students about the various jobs available within the restoration industry is important and necessary for helping less-familiar Emily Hatsigeorgiou was interviewed at Off To The Races With RPM held at the Collectors’ Car Garage (CCG), Chicago, IL. She also career paths gain attention. There is a misconwon a paid internship with Ohio-based SEVEN LLC to detail and prepare for sale The Gooding & Company auction cars as well as ception that you have to be a “wrencher” to get collector show cars for the Arizona Concours d’Elegance in Scottsdale, AZ. involved with the auto industry. I would love to tell people, especially women, that there are endless possibilities within this field. Art majors, historians, curators, digital media specialists and so many more could be involved. RPM Foundation does a wonderful job of supporting and prom oting these valued but lesser-known career paths. If RPM continues to receive donations and funding, they will be able to continue grooming the next generation and finding students with “heritage in their hearts,” as President Diane Fitzgerald would say. We students appreciate that the older generation has taken notice of us, welcomed us into this world and shared with us their invaluable knowledge and contagious passion! — Emily Hatsigeorgiou *Collier Symposium Event description: Unique among collectible car events, the Symposium guests enjoy small group seminars, panel discussions, Collier Collection gallery studies, detailed examination of the world’s most important automobiles, and restoration and shop presentations under the tutelage of nationally renowned restorers and conservators.
EYES ON THE ROAD RPM discovered something new in Brooklyn, NY! Riding With Us was founded in 2012 by Michele Fox, a classic car owner and enthusiast who decided to turn her passion into action! After purchasing a 1968 Camaro and using it as her daily driver, Michele quickly learned that classic cars on the road attract a lot of attention – especially from fellow enthusiasts and members of the collector car community. “I’ve always had a love for classic cars. There are so many passionate and interesting people in the community surrounding them – and when I experienced that, I knew I wanted to do something with it.” Michele works with local public high schools that have existing automotive programs and offers after-school programs to students interested in restoration & preservation. Riding With Us recruits students from throughout New York City. Her foundation offers scholarship programs and provides educational and mentorship opportunities in the automotive field to empower young people to give back to their community. Riding With Us is only getting started! To find out more and keep up with their progress and impact, visit RidingWithUs.com.
2702 East D Street, Tacoma, WA 98421 Toll Free: 855.537.4579 Email: info@rpm.foundation Website: www.rpm.foundation
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2017 CALENDAR Look for RPM at Car Shows, Concours, Programs and Events! APRIL
JUNE
4/22 Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Classic Cruisers' Car Show + Site Visit (PA) 4/21-23 Kiawah Island Motoring Retreat (SC) 4/29 Cars & Coffee at The Creative Workshop (FL)
6/1 Up Close With RPM at Club Auto (WA) 6/3 Board Meeting at ACM (WA) 6/3 Greenwich Concours d'Elegance (CT) 6/3 Wheels & Heels Annual Gala at ACM (WA) 6/11 The Elegance at Hershey (PA) 6/18 SVRA Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational (IN)
MAY
JULY
5/6 K eels & Wheels Concours d'Elegance (TX) 5/6 McPherson College C.A.R.S. Club Show (KS) 5/6 Pinehurst Concours d'Elegance (NC) 5/18 Spring Vintage Festival, Road America (WI) 5/20 Off To The Races With RPM — Road America (WI)
7/15 Forest Grove Concours d'Elegance (OR) 7/28 Concours d'Elegance of America at St. Johns (MI)
RPM BOARD of DIRECTORS Dan Beutler, CFO, Hagerty (Traverse City, MI) Dawn Fisher, Vintage Racer, owner MFD Classic Motors (Lake Leelanau, MI) Keith Flickinger, Master Craftsman, Precision Motor Cars (Allentown, PA) McKeel Hagerty, Chairman & CEO, Hagerty (Traverse City, MI) Tabetha Hammer, Senior Manager – Car Culture, Hagerty (Traverse City, MI) David Madeira, CEO, LeMay – America’s Car Museum (Tacoma, WA) Jim Menneto, Publisher, Hemmings Motor News (Bennington, VT) Paul Miller, President, LeMay – America’s Car Museum (Tacoma, WA) T.G. Mittler, Collector (Santa Fe, NM) Mike Stowe, Master Craftsman, Great Lakes Motor Works (Boyne City, MI)
RPM AMBASSADORS Lyn St. James, Indy Racer (Phoenix, AZ & Indianapolis, IN) Patrick Barnes, Community College Instructor, retired; ACM Volunteer (Portland, OR and Indio, CA) Josh Baum, Conservator, Private Collection (Goleta, CA) Herb Clark, Automotive Restoration Club of Sun City West, founder (Sun City West, AZ and St. Louis, MO) Drew Feustel, NASA Astronaut (Houston, TX) Ryan Levesque, Body Shot Technician, Carr’s Corvettes & Customs, and RPM’s 1st apprentice! (Dallas, TX) Bud McIntire, Director of Student Services, Great Lakes Boat Building Shop, retired architect (Winston Salem, NC) Stephen Murphy, Collection Manager, Chicago Vintage Motor Carriage (Chicago, IL) Stacy Puckett Taylor, Parts Production Manager, Classic & Exotic Services, Inc. (Detroit, MI) Burt Richmond, Collectors’ Car Garage (Chicago, IL) David Rising, Automotive Engineer, Tacoma-native (Esslingen, Germany) Clint Sly, President, Collectors Financial Services (Belleair, FL)
RPM CLASSIFIED
Do you have a classic Cadillac that needs new life? A high school automotive restoration program that RPM has been tracking is looking for a 1960s-to early 1970s-era Cadillac for their next project. A complete car – body, engine and interior – in either running or non-running condition. Tax-deductible vehicle donation. Restored car would be sold and the proceeds put back into the program as scholarships for our students. Best if east of Ohio. Call RPM for more information.
RPM STAFF Diane Fitzgerald, President, RPM Foundation (Chicago, IL) Sarah Hebard, Interim Executive Assistant (Chicago, IL) Stacy Puckett Taylor, Interim Grants Administrator (Detroit, MI)
PRESERVE THE PAST. BUILD THE FUTURE. Who We Are + What We Do
RPM Foundation is a services-providing, resource sharing, grant-giving organization that accelerates the growth of the next generation of automotive Restoration and Preservation craftsmen through formal training and Mentorship. Founded through the vision of Hagerty in 2005, RPM Foundation is the educational arm of America’s Automotive Trust. Together, these organizations work to secure and preserve America’s automotive heritage.
Supporting RPM Foundation – Thank You! Help us achieve our goal of raising $1,000,000! Today, with funding requests more than triple what we are able to giveaway, we need your support. Donations of any size are deeply appreciated. For more information, contact Diane Fitzgerald, President (diane@rpm.foundation, C: 312-543-5732 Direct: 855.537.4579 www.RPM.Foundation).
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Please send your donation to: RPM Foundation, 2702 East D Street, Tacoma, WA 98421
RPM Foundation is an entity of America's Automotive Trust. RPMysc17
THANK YOU!