Hagerty Blog: Youth Judging at Cole Porter Festival

Most people are probably wondering where the collector car hobby will be 20 or 30 years from now. What are enthusiasts going to do with their beautiful vehicles when they pass on? Who will continue this priceless past-time? With Hagerty's Operation Ignite, a program directed at getting youths involved in the hobby, there will certainly be passionate collectors for years to come.

I had the privilege of leading 15 young judges around the Cole Porter car show. After easily recruiting the next Jay Leno's, we went over some ground rules making sure all knew how important their role was. As the parade of judges walked to score 7 pre-selected cars in the show, everyone started to perk up and follow the group. It was unbelievable!! They wanted to know what the kids were looking at and how they were judging the cars. The kids were extremely engaged and very excited to learn about these pieces or art. The owner of each vehicle described the car for the group, then started it and honked the horn. The young judges were able to critique the car in a number of different ways, including how the horn sounded! They looked over a good variety of vehicles with a fine-tooth comb; a 31' Model A, a 68' Road Runner with a Hemi, a custom 66' Mustang, a stock 79' Corvette, and a couple street rods. Even though every kid had their favorite car, and we weren't able to see the entire field, each child now has a deeper understanding of what goes into a car and what makes it so special to the owners.

We all agree something needs to be done to get kids involved in the hobby. Why not join in all the fun and get involved? Check out: http://www.hagerty.com/contest/ for some other ways Hagerty is fueling the hobby. For more information on all of Hagerty’s youth programs, including how you can participate, please call Rory Carroll at 800-922-4050 ext. 8105, or e-mail rcarroll@hagerty.com.