Building was not Steve's first choice. For the first 12 years, after receiving a degree in accounting from Jacksonville State, he worked for a health care firm and managed 12 nursing homes in Texas. The job required him to travel about 75 percent of the time. Stricklin had married his high school sweetheart, Susan, and they had three children. Travel gets old fast when you' re away from your family that much. The logical answer was to return to Huntsville and join his father, JT, in the home building business. After all, his first job was as a laborer, cleaning job sites and laying down poly in crawlspaces. He says, "I knew I could get a crash course in building from one of the best, and would know real quick if that was for me or not. "Fortunately, or unfortunately, I loved it." Steve worked with his dad for five years and then set out on his own.

They build homes ranging from $300,000 to $750,000. Stricklin's homes are mainly of the "traditional" style and have a number of extras, such as nine-foot ceilings (10-, 11 - and 12- foot, or even 14-foot in places; he likes tray ceilings for the dining room and master bedroom). He uses ceramic tile in the kitchen and foyer. "All of our cabinets are custom-made and we use upscale appliances like Kitchen Aid dishwashers and Jenn-Air downdraft ovens. We also put hot water dispensers in our homes," he says. "It's the best thing since chocolate ice cream. It gives you hot water instantly at180 degrees.

Steve's company policy is direct: to provide each client a home they can be proud of, a home that, regardless of price range, has features that are unique to a Stricklin custom home. "We know a satisfied client will tell five friends, and a dissatisfied one will tell 25. We plan on building in the Huntsville area forever, and that honesty, quality and good service will establish the kind of reputation that provides you clients even in slow times. "What I like most about my job," Steve says, "is two-fold. First, that your potential to succeed is in direct proportion to your own effort, and secondly, the opportunity to participate in the single largest investment most people make in their lives."

Steve was the 1994 president of the Huntsville/Madison County Builders Association (he has served as first Vice President, Treasurer, Chairman of the Parade of Homes Committee, served on the Finance Committee, Governmental Affairs Committee, Long-Range Planning Committee, and the Standards & Ethics Committee. He has served on the board of directors since 1988, and has been a national director.