Terry Boatwright of The Salty Nut
Star Profile
By John Temple Ligon

Terry Boatwright

Cooper Darby is four years old, and he has cerebral palsy. And he also has a very good friend in Terry Boatwright, who is organizing a golf tournament to raise funds to buy Cooper therapy and a sportsman's future.

Terry Boatwright was born in Marion, S.C., where her father was in construction. She had an older brother by 10 years, who also entered construction. When she was about to start the third grade, her father moved the family to Myrtle Beach and enrolled her at Lakewood Elementary.

Boatwright learned tennis early, and she played varsity tennis for Socastee High School. In the summers, she toured the state's open tennis tournaments.

Boatwright came to USC in Columbia in 1989 to study early childhood education. She graduated in four years prepared to teach elementary school.

Soon after graduation, Boatwright was teaching at Pierce Terrace Elementary, part of Fort Jackson.

While she was in college, Boatwright waited tables, tended bar, and learned to manage small hospitality businesses. Rockaways on Rosewood is where she gained the most valuable experiences in management.

James Cooper Darby of Tee Off for Cooper

After a few years part- time at Rockaways, Boatwright voted against teaching elementary school in deference to her budding career in restaurants. Boatwright left Rockaways in the mid- 1990s for the manager's job at The Salty Nut, where she has been ever since.

Boatwright reflects on the history of Five Points, and she sees a growth spurt if parking can be added correctly and managed well. She enjoys working in an environment that nurtures both Garibaldi's and Group, practically across the street from each other.

She has conquered cancer fairly recently. When she was down and uncertain, her friends and supporters organized a golf tournament to help out. Word of mouth advertising can work: 144 golfers signed up, payed the fee, and played the game, amassing about $20,000 for Boatwright's benefit.

Now Boatwright wants to do something similar for someone else. James Cooper Darby, age four, needs sophisticated and expensive physical therapy to use his limbs while he grapples with cerebral palsy.

The right therapy for Cooper is in Atlanta, where a three- week boot camp entails four hours a day for five days a week. It costs $5,000 for each three weeks, plus the cost of the commute and the accommodations in Atlanta.

Tee Off for Cooper is scheduled for April 21, and it costs $65 per player. Play is at Charwood Country Club, 222 Clubhouse Drive, West Columbia. Event chair is Terry Boatwright, 463.8135.