A Rare Visit to Paul Russell & Company to Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the McPherson College Automotive Restoration Program

By Jay Woodruff and Tom Ducibella

THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY of the automotive restoration program at McPherson College and the fact that their graduates are working at several northeastern locations provided a special and unique opportunity for Alfa Owners of New England (AONE). An event was arranged for May 9th to support the anniversary of this important program and hear from McPherson graduates working at one of the finest restoration shops in the world, Paul Russell & Company. Support came from AONE donations to this program, a donation match, and a book presentation from AONE to McPherson graduates there.

The fully subscribed event brought just over 25 members and spouses to Paul Russell & Company in Essex, MA, on a rainy day that was quickly brightened by an indoor tour. Our first sight was an ultra-rare Ferrari 410 Super America in its original gold metallic color – as presented by Chinetti Motors at the 1956 New York International Auto Show. Just this year, the coupe won best of show at the prestigious 2026 Cavallino Classic. Paul Russell & Company often enters its customers’ cars into top international and U.S. shows like Pebble Beach, Villa d’Este, Cavallino, Amelia Island and Greenwich.

Four McPherson College graduates work at Paul Russell & Company, and two of them – Evan Clary (classic car sales associate) and Chris Hammond (restoration senior technician) – took time out on a Saturday this past May to show us around. They escorted us into the main shop area, filled with an extraordinary assemblage of newly finished cars and many in process. These included some of the world’s rarest sports cars, most coveted designs, and most historic; e.g., Mercedes, Ferrari, and Alfa Romeo. For those of you interested in particular marques and models restored there, their website is highly recommended and better than anything that could be written or shown here: https://paulrussell.com.

Tour highlights explained by Evan and Chris included the philosophy behind the restorations (originality is usually king), extensive research investigations (archives, travel, original details on careful disassembly), client relationship, use of original upholstery methods/materials, extensive restoration documentation, large separate dedicated areas (engines/transmissions, paint, metal fabrication, upholstery, etc.), the use of team work for each car, and time-line factors, especially for major concours. 

The McPherson College connection. When your business is top-tier auto preservation, it can only be as good as the people who work there. That is one of the reasons Paul has actively supported McPherson College, which for 50 years has offered an automotive restoration technology, the only program of its kind in the nation. He is National Advisory Board Chair and actively advocated for the school to create its current four-year bachelor’s degree for its auto restoration program. 

How well do McPherson students learn? Well, in 2023, McPherson students completed a full restoration of a 1953 Mercedes-Benz 300S Cabriolet so noteworthy that they were invited to exhibit the car on the lawn at the 2023 Pebble Beach event. But the story does not end there. The car went on to win second place in the Postwar Luxury category class, the first time that a student-restored car has achieved a top-three ranking in any Pebble Beach class in the event’s 76-year history. 

McPherson College students like Evan, Chris, Wally Behrens, and Franco Montoya graduate with a deep knowledge of skills, including research and documentation, and the depth of their capabilities provides a much-needed stream of new talent into companies like Paul Russell and Company. The college’s work has been attracting attention. CBS SundayMorning recently featured the college’s auto restoration program. Jay Leno, one of the best-known celebrity collectors of classic automobiles, has been one of the college’s most visible supporters since 1997. After the college’s Pebble Beach win in 2023, applications have increased dramatically, and the school recently established a $1.5 billion endowment, one of the largest in the U.S. for a small liberal arts college.

After coffee and donuts in the showroom, Chris treated us to a sample of the kind of diagnostic work they do, in this case testing new (reproduction) electrical parts before installing. And then Paul Russell addressed us, talking about the company and the support he gives to McPherson College, whose graduates do splendid work at important venues beyond his company, including the General Motors Heritage Collection. Twelve years ago, the College began “The Path to Pebble,” which led to the McPherson team’s success on the 2023 Concours. He mentioned also that Mercedes has been a long-time supporter of the McPherson program.

To show the club’s appreciation, Tom Ducibella, who organized the event with Paul Russell, presented the McPherson grads with the recent book (with an AONE acknowledgement insert) on the fascinating life of Luigi Chinetti, who won Le Mans twice for Alfa Romeo and later established Ferrari sales and racing in the USA (Ferrari in America, by M. Lynch). 

Moreover, due to this event and after the match, over $4000 was donated to the McPherson College Automotive Restoration Program’s Alex Finigan Scholarship fund (matched by an anonymous donor associated with the College). Finally, we gathered for a group photo with Chris’s Alfa Romeo Duetto. Afterwards, we drove to Peppino’s Osteria in Topsfield for excellent pizza.

The club’s expectation is that submission and publication of this event in the AROC Alfa Owner magazine (3-4 months, submission to publication) will generate support from other chapters for McPherson’s program.