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Age: 46.

Profession/business: Chairman and CEO of Sterling Construction Services in Rockville. With more than 20 years' experience in the industry, Crockett founded the company with a focus on building a reputation for competitive pricing, superior workmanship and overall excellence. The company established itself as a direct service provider in asbestos abatement, lead-based paint abatement and demolition. Over the past eight years, it has evolved to include disaster recovery, fire-stopping, construction cleaning and saw-cutting.

The company also operates as a general contractor and has provided services to Hensel Phelps Construction on the PenRen project. Sterling Construction has expanded its business with Hensel Phelps, having performed in excess of $5 million on that project in 2007. As a result, Sterling Construction received the Hensel Phelps Small Business Subcontractor of the Year award and also was named one of the Top 100 MBE Firms in Maryland.

The company, which started as a home business, has grown to include two office locations, 16 salaried personnel and more than 100 trade personnel.

Residence: North Bethesda.

Family: Wife of 20 years, Florence; two children, Sterling Jr. and Nicole.

Hobbies: "Voracious reader, golf, amateur chef and supporter of the arts."

Last book read: "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama.

Last Movie Seen: "21" with Kevin Spacey.

Next vacation spot: Rome.

Latest accomplishments: Named 2008 Small Business Leader of the Year by the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce; completed more than $12 million in business in 2007; moved to new 5,000-square-foot office in Rockville, which will allow the company to expand. Takes "great pride in company's track record of creating well-paying jobs for highly skilled individuals."

How he keeps fresh ideas coming: "I make a point to keep myself open to new ideas by listening and reading closely, learning from the past, taking a non-judgmental approach and surrounding myself with inspirational individuals. Particularly in challenging times, the adage that compares success to wrestling with a gorilla says it best: You don't quit when you get tired; you quit when the gorilla gets tired. Therefore, I am continuously seeking different approaches to improving projects whether they're business or personal."

Quote: "Small business is inundated with political rhetoric that promises support but, to a large degree, that promise goes undelivered. It's the small-business owners that know it falls to us, day-to-day, to take the lead in actively continuing to create the jobs our communities need. It's a reality that small businesses create jobs and will continue to do so, because we have no option but to succeed for our families and community."