Hemmings publisher Jim Menneto to receive 2017 Nicola Bulgari Award

Jim Menneto drives the Hemmings Motor News 1932 Ford Speedster in the 2016 Great Race. Photo by Tommy Lee Byrd, courtesy The Great Race.

Each year, America’s Automotive Trust (AAT) presents the Nicola Bulgari Award to a candidate chosen by the famed automobile collector himself, awarding the honor to someone who endeavors to preserve America’s motoring heritage, promotes the use of vintage vehicles, and strives to ensure the future of the collector car hobby. For 2017, Hemmings publisher and staunch Great Race supporter Jim Menneto has been selected to receive the Nicola Bulgari Award, joining an esteemed group that includes Rob Myers (2016), Rick Hendrick (2015), McKeel Hagerty (2014), Dr. Fred Simeone (2013) and Ed Welburn (2012).

Jim, a lifelong muscle car fan and former drag racer, has been president and publisher of Hemmings Motor News since it was acquired by American City Business Journals in 2002. Under his leadership, the Hemmings family of publications have expanded to further include Hemmings Muscle Machines, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car (which ceased publication in 2017), and the Hemmings Daily. In addition, Hemmings-sponsored automotive events have grown to include spring and fall Musclepaloozas, the annual Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance, and regular in-season Cruise-Ins at our Bennington, Vermont headquarters.

Jim, along with Coker Tire founder Corky Coker, has also been instrumental in the rebirth of The Great Race (now the Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty), a time-speed-distance rally centered around classic cars. Since the event’s relaunch in 2011, it has grown in popularity and scope, selling out in a shorter amount of time with each successive year and attracting entrants from around the globe.

The AAT is made up of several organizations, including LeMay – America’s Car Museum, the RPM Foundation (of which Jim is a board member), Club Auto, and the Concours Club. Each year a list of Nicola Bulgari Award nominees is compiled by David Madeira, the CEO of AAT and president of LeMay – America’s Car Museum; AAT board members McKeel Hagerty and Ed Welburn; and LeMay – America’s Car Museum collection curator Keith Flickinger (who also manages the Bulgari Collection). These names are then passed on to Bulgari himself, who makes the final selection.

Head of the luxury goods empire that bears his family name, Bulgari is a passionate collector of American cars and the founder of the NB Center for American Automotive Heritage in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In 2016, his generosity helped to preserve the America on Wheels Museum, also in Allentown, which had been facing an economic crisis prompted by rising costs and declining attendance.

The 2017 Nicola Bulgari Award will be presented on June 3, at a reception for Concours Club members that precedes the Wheels & Heels Annual Gala, America’s Automotive Trust’s largest fundraiser in support of its commitment to preserving America’s automotive heritage through ACM’s focus on lifelong education programs and the RPM Foundation. For additional information, or to purchase tickets, visit AmericasCarMuseum.org.