NOT LONG AFTER starting here at the paper in 1977, my editor asked me to check on the United Way's annual fund-raising drive.

"Call Barbara Terry," the boss said. "She can tell you that and anything else going on in town."

I told that story a few weeks back when I sat down with Terry, the closest thing this area's ever come to an Unsinkable Molly Brown.

The topic of conversation was the end of Terry's stint of nearly 30 years at the helm of the Rappahannock United Way.

The more we talked, the more I heard about projects the irrepressible Terry has ahead of her.

"I'll never really leave the United Way," said Terry, who continues as the president of the Rappahannock United Way Foundation, a group trying to raise money for a permanent building and endowment. "Besides, I'm still on the boards of several United Way agencies."

A few weeks back, Terry was roasted by a loving group of friends, family members and officials who've been connected with the United Way during Terry's tenure.

"They know me, because Ron Branscome from the Community Services Board stood up and talked about my 1993 Buick Roadmaster Stationwagon," she said, laughing. "He hit the nail on the head when he said I love that car, and will keep on driving it. He teased that it's as big as a bus, but that people surely see me coming."

Terry has been loyal to the people and causes that have grown with the population of this area.

The young woman from Milford in Caroline County sort of backed into the United Way job, serving area nonprofits such as the Girl Scouts and the YMCA in many different capacities.

"I was among the handful of people who helped start the YMCA, and really learned how to ask people for money with that group," said Terry. "There were weeks when the director would call and say there wasn't enough money to pay salaries. I'd be out asking for donations so we could make the payroll."