Mount Pleasant Magazine July/August 2018

201 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.ILoveMountPleasant.com | www.BestofMP.com real estate W illie Hopkins has lived in Mount Pleasant his entire life, hailing from the long- established East Cooper Hopkins and Pritchard families. His wife’s family moved around the Charleston area, settling in Mount Pleasant in 1977. Chrissie and Willie are both proud Wando Warriors, graduating in 1983 and 1980, respectively. They met a few years after high school and married in 1987, celebrating 31 years of marriage on June 6. Willie’s love of airplanes and engines inspired him to pursue a degree at Trident Tech. Some would have expected him to seek a law degree with so many attorneys on both sides of the family, but he was more inclined toward engineering. His dad encouraged civil engineering, so Willie spent almost three years at the University of South Carolina. Willie just could not get excited about the idea of wearing a suit in an office all day. He admitted he just loves the noise of a smooth-running engine. He laughs when he reveals that the day after he graduated with his automotive technology degree, TTC announced a new program in aeronautics. He received an associate in aeronautics and was licensed as an airframe and powerplant mechanic in 1986. He was offered a lucrative job working on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico as a helicopter mechanic. Not wanting to uproot his young family, he kept the mechanic position at the Gulf station at Patriots Point, where he had been working part-time while attending school. He followed that with an almost decade- long stint at another automotive repair shop in Mount Pleasant before he and Chrissie opened East Cooper Auto Pros in 1994. While Chrissie teaches full-time at O’Quinn School, she can still be found many afternoons and most of the summer working in the back office. After earning her certification as a preschool teacher, she enjoyed 21 years at Woodland Hall Preschool before going to O’Quinn. Willie and Chrissie are family-oriented, sharing a “simple and easy” Lowcountry life. Their lobby wall is decorated with family photos, with all six of their employees and their families intermixed. Their daughter, Briggs, owns the popular aFORTable Grooming for pets in North Mount Pleasant, and their son, Carter, recently achieved the notable designation of professional engineer. East Cooper Auto Pros is proud to be a NAPA AutoCare Center, providing the Nationwide Peace of Mind © Warranty. What this means for their customers is a written guarantee on all parts and labor for repairs and maintenance for 24 months or 24,000 miles. This warranty extends nationwide to thousands of NAPA AutoCare Centers, so safe auto travel is always available to their customers. East Cooper Auto Pros enjoys a great reputation in the community, having been voted “the best” three years in a row by the readers of Mount Pleasant Magazine and receiving the Reader’s Choice Award from the Moultrie News for four years – showing that their hard work is recognized and appreciated. Chrissie and Willie love the support from the East Cooper community and welcome you to come by for your automotive repairs and maintenance needs. A Sterling Reputation East Cooper Auto Pros For more information, please call 843-884-2730 or visit www.eastcooperautopros.com . ask th exper s By Ginger Sot tile