ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 10, 1997 TAG: 9701100062
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
It was just Charlie Boatwright and a roomful of his closest friends - 250 of them.
They talked about his character and dependability, his humor and medical skill, the many ways he's contributed to his patients' lives for the past 40 years.
When the standing ovation had subsided, and it came time for the guest of honor to speak, Boatwright said, "Well, I guess I thank you."
Not even the kickoff dinner Wednesday for the fund drive that will endow a medical scholarship in his name could draw this modern-day, old-time country doctor out of his laid-back demeanor.
Boatwright stood and patted the podium with his palm while he spun yarns about former patients, many of whom were seated in the audience or on the dais at the Custom Catering Center Wednesday night.
When the time came for the emotional summation, Boatwright leaned over to the microphone and said, "I've been very privileged."
Everyone else who spoke insisted they were the ones favored to have known Boatwright.
"Have you ever had a friend that never let you down?" Joan Munford asked those assembled. "That's how I feel about Charlie Boatwright."
"Always genuine, thoughtful, professional," said Jim Nichols, retired dean of Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. "He was always there."
Boatwright, 70, isn't ill or even planning to retire from his family practice in Blacksburg. But many of his devoted patients and friends hatched the idea several months ago of raising money for a scholarship to the Medical College of Virginia, where Boatwright graduated in 1953.
Funding a full scholarship at MCV takes a minimum of $200,000 - enough to generate an annual tuition grant of $10,000.
Even before the campaign went public on Wednesday, the fund-raisers had met a strong reception, good enough to raise their expectations for how much money they can generate. "We're well on our way" to establishing the scholarship, said Betsy Massey, one of the originators and co-chairmen of the drive.
Now they're soliciting contributions from the public, in any amount, from people who have valued their contact with Boatwright over the years.
They say any amount of money or other securities is welcome and tax deductible, also.
This citizen-driven scholarship fundraising is a unique undertaking, according to a Medical College of Virginia official.
"I'm really confident they'll get their goal," Kara Broderick, MCV's medical school director of development, said. "We're really excited about this."
Annual tuition at MCV for in-state medical students exceeds $10,000, not counting room and board, she said. Scholarship money is limited, and the average student graduates with a medical degree and $67,000 of debt.
The committee that organized the Charles L. Boatwright, M.D. Scholarship fund drive wants to assist a deserving medical student from Southwest Virginia or any rural area of the state.
Boatwright is a Lee County native who opened his local practice in 1955.
The committee members say they want to give the student a chance to learn the medical skills that Boatwright has used over the years. Yet they concede that his special personal qualities may be more difficult to acquire.
The physician they described at the dinner is both a master diagnostician and a man of uncommon personal warmth.
"What is it about Charlie Boatwright that makes him different so special to us?" former state delegate Munford asked.
Her conclusion was Boatwright's reassuring presence and unflagging encouragement. "He was there in the happiness of childbirth and the sadness of death," she added.
Boatwright's friends were also not above using the occasion to stick the doctor with a sharp needle.
Nichols called Boatwright a "country doctor with old-fashioned ways." But he said the doctor had some surprising concessions to the modern era, such as getting new cushioned chairs for his notoriously no-frills waiting room.
"Who knows? He might even add a coat closet," Nichols added, to the crowd's delight.
In addition to the stories told Wednesday night, scholarship- fund committee members are asking donors to send their favorite Boatwright stories or a personal message along with their money.
They plan to present him with a book containing those reminiscences when the fund drive wraps up, which the committee hopes will be in several months.
It was noted at the dinner that the amount raised locally for the scholarship will be matched by eligible funds from the state's Graduate Assistance Program.
The committee says cash, securities or real estate will be gratefully accepted, through outright donations, annuities or trusts.
Contributions may be sent to the Boatwright Scholarship, P.O. Box 491, Blacksburg, Va. 24063. Questions may be directed to Kara Broderick at (804) 828-4800; the co-chairs of the local committee, Betsy and Howard Massey, at 552-3067; or Phyllis and Blackie Blevins at 552-1281.
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