Outstanding Business of the Year Award - 2002

St Petersburg , Florida , May 10, 2002.

In four short years, Nancy Crews has grown Custom Manufacturing & Engineering™ (CME™) from a fabrication and built-to-print assembly plant into an innovative technology firm to be reckoned with.

Since its inception in 1997, this 100-persent woman owned business has thrived under
the direction of Crews, its president and chief executive officer.

Today, CME provides hardware and software development, fabrication, assembly, and
other systems engineering and integration services to a wide range of customers, including the US Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, the Federal Aviation Administration and private sector clientele.

"Our 30,000 square foot facility is located at Joe's Creek Industrial Park," said Crews.
"We provide turn-key systems, instrumentation, test equipment and components for monitoring and control systems, communications and power management."

They also provide community service. CME staffers take an active role in the community, helping groups such as Meals on Wheels, the SPCA, Ronald McDonald House, Habitat
for Humanity and CARE.

The company's commitment to fostering a spirit of camaraderie and team synergy has attracted a highly capable research and development staff. Their credentials include
three doctorate, 13 master's, and 38 bachelor's degrees.

Professionalism and quality have placed CME's products and services in high demand. Each major program at CME has had to increase staff by 150 percent to keep up with client orders, from 40 members in 1998 to more than 90 today. Much of that growth came in 2001 when CME announced a major product innovation; the development of an intelligent Power Management System for the US Army Communications-Electronics Command. CME delivered the Army's product solution, from concept to product fabrication, in less than a year.

As if to return the favor, the new Power Management System has led to both fame and
fortune for CME.

The Small Business Administration honored CME with its National Tibbets Award for Research & Development Excellence. The Army honored CME with soaring sales, up 177 percent from the previous year. the Business Journal Serving Greater Tampa Bay reported
the company's revenue grew to $7 million in 2001, more than doubling its 2000 figure.

What is Crews' secret to success?

"You have to be aware as an entrepreneur," she said. "You have to have consistency of purpose. You have to be working every day."

That's good advice from a proven business success.