There is a fair amount of exciting news from the Coventry Foundation. Part of it deals with the
wonderful symbiotic relationship the Coventry Foundation has with the Pennsylvania College of Technology. We will share some information about the Coventry Foundation endowed scholarship opportunities there, as well as see some of the fruits of this effort where Gary Kincel recently brought back to the foundation an E-Type Coupe the students had worked on for some time. The
other newsworthy matter of interest is the ceremony held this past Memorial Day weekend at the Coventry Foundation location in Columbia, SC where Roger Wright donated a Mark II to the Coventry
Foundation on the 60th Anniversary of his purchasing the same!
COVENTRY FOUNDATION ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP
Gary Kincel is proud to share that not long after he and others started the Coventry Foundation, it became clear that one of the primary goals should include a focus on the next generation of enthusiasts. Founding Board of Directors member and past JCNA President Gary Hagopian took on the challenge as his personal project and started considering how the foundation should approach finding and supporting the next generation. It did not take Gary very long to begin considering institutions of higher education and in particular those that provided a degree in auto restoration for the foundation to work with. He eventually found, visited, and proposed that the Coventry Foundation support the Pennsylvania College of Technology with an annual scholarship. It was recommended that this be approached through an endowment that - once paid -would continue to grow in value, and provide a scholarship annually to a student of the restoration program, forever.
and an Eagle Scout.
Gary Kincel reports, with much appreciation, that the foundation has now completely funded their first endowment so as to provide one student during each of the past 5 years with the Coventry Foundation Scholarship. The most current recipient, Anthony Maguschak has worked hard for over a year on a S3 E-Type Coupe that was donated to the Foundation. Many of the parts for this project were donated by SNG Barratt. Anthony is a young man who has done some great work on the foundation’s car, and has had many phone consultations with Coventry President George Camp (George is the “expert’s expert” when it comes to any question about repair or operations in any Jaguar vehicle). George was most impressed with Anthony each time they talked. Anthony has already completed his Associate Degree in Automotive Technology and is finishing his certificate program for Auto Restoration. He is from Weatherly PA and is a member of the Weatherly Hill Climb Association
On Saturday April 23, 2022 Gary Kincel and Amos Kunkle attended the annual car show held on the college campus and picked up the E-Type at the end of the show.It was a really good day, with Gary and Amos spending time together as well as with the students
(as pictured in photographs accompanying this article), as well as with others who brought their cars to the show. As always, the campus was very well maintained as are the workshops and classrooms for the various curricula that are taught there. Visiting the college and spending time with students and teachers is always one of the highlights of Gary Kincel’s year.
Gary Hagopian is already working on the next scholarship endowment, reviewing restoration programs at schools around the country. It should be noted that Gary Hagopian is also a Vintage Race Car Driver and participated in this year’s Sebring vintage races, along with Jaguar Club Of Pittsburgh’s own Jim Dolan.
The second matter being reported on in this month’s article is the wonderful donation to the Coventry Foundation from Roger Wright and the special celebration event held on Saturday, May 28 at
the Coventry Foundation location in Columbia, SC regarding the donation. The Coventry Foundation has enjoyed generous donations from across North America. This Memorial Day Weekend they
received a very special one…..Roger Wright’s beloved 1961 Mark II he had owned for sixty years. Remaining almost original, it has traversed America eight times. He kept a log book with dates and
mileage of every single gallon of gas this vehicle has consumed in the last sixty years.
Roger appeared on the foundation’s radar screen in 2018, when he was only 86. He had driven alone from Connecticut, by way of Montreal, to Santa Barbara for the third annual International
Jaguar Festival. He had virtually no competition for the first annual Coventry Foundation Founders Award. Roger has more recently driven the car from south Florida to Maine.