Wake County Public School System

Hall of fame

Entrepreneurship

Terrence & Torry Holt

Torry and Terrence grew up in Gibsonville, NC. At ages 10 and six, respectively, their mom Ojetta was diagnosed with lymphoma – an event that would change their lives. Like many kids, they grew up playing sports. But Torry also acknowledges that sports gave them a release from the pressure of dealing with their mom’s cancer. She passed away 10 years later.

Many people remember Torry from his days at NC State, where he was a wide receiver from 1995 to 1998. He shattered the record books with his explosive running and quick hands and was named to the NC State Hall of Fame in 2013. He was the sixth overall pick by the St. Louis Rams in the 1999 NFL Draft, winning the Super Bowl in his rookie year. He is the only receiver in NFL history to record 1,300 or more yards in six consecutive seasons. He also is a nominee for the NFL Hall of Fame.

Terrence followed in his brother’s footsteps, attending NC State. But he carved out a much different niche for himself. Terrence set records as a safety and on special teams, blocking kicks against some of the best college football teams. During his career with the Wolfpack, he blocked seven field goals, and in 2001, he blocked four, which tied the national record. He was drafted in the fifth round by the Detroit Lions, where he played for four years before joining the Arizona Cardinals.

While football gave the Holt Brothers celebrity status, their roots in small town North Carolina – and their mom’s health – shaped them and kept them grounded. “For us, it’s about more than football. It’s about being a good person, and honoring your family, friends and yourself by being the best you can be,” says Torry.

In honor of their mom, they founded the Holt Brothers Foundation, which supports children who have a parent with cancer through KidsCan, an educational and peer support group at area hospitals. They also support Camp Kesem, a sleep away camp for children who have a parent with cancer.

Torry and Terrence are committed to giving back to the community in other ways, with a focus on disadvantaged and minority youth. Torry, in fact, served on the capital campaign for the Southeast Raleigh YMCA + WCPSS Elementary School project, a collective effort to reduce generational poverty. Their firm, Holt Brothers Construction, also made a sizable donation to the cause. They also support scholarship programs for student athletes at NC State, and minority students at Wake Tech who are studying construction management.

The brothers participated in WakeEd’s Partners Read program, serving as adult reading mentors with struggling first grade students in Wake County Public Schools. And their company is also working directly with the WCPSS as part of WakeEd’s Summer STEM program.

“We don’t want our legacy to be only what we accomplished on the football field,” says Terrence. “Our goal and ambition is to create a competitive, growing company that has the community’s best interests at heart.”

Terrence and Torry Holt were inducted into the Wake County Public School System Hall of Fame in 2018.

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