Wilfred (Fred) T. Azar, III , 45, married to Melanie for 23 years, has two boys, Brian age 18 and Stephen age 17. Lives on the eastern shore of Maryland since 1986 where he enjoys the scenery and serenity of the Wye River. Fred was born in Annapolis in 1961 and grew up in Sarasota, Florida where he went to school and began his career in law enforcement, then moved into the firefighter/paramedic field. In 1986 Fred was recruited by his grandfather to return to Maryland to learn the family business (commercial real estate development) and eventually run it for him.

In 1994 Fred became President and CEO of Empire Corporation while his grandfather remained on as Chairman of the Board. The experience Fred gained over the years of the booming mid to late eighties followed by the credit crunch/recession of the early to mid nineties gave him a broad education in life and his business. In 1999 Fred successfully bought out his grandfather’s interest in the company and remains the President and CEO of this twenty five million plus dollar company today.

Today Fred remains active in the day to day operations of Empire Corporation, and is a principal in American Global Yacht Group www.agyg.com. Fred has served on many community Boards, including 13 years on the Board of North Arundel Hospital, North Arundel Hospital Foundation and Chairman of the Board of Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital. Fred served on the Board of Directors of Annapolis National Bank from 1992 to 1997. In 1999 Fred was one of twelve founding Directors and continues today as a member of the Board of Directors of Commerce First Bank (Nasdaq -CMFB) www.commerce1st.com, as well as an active member of the Bank’s Loan Committee.

David began his career in the family business in 1984 as a field manager. He has first hand experience in all facets of the commercial building business in construction and property management, from initial contact to space planning and finally to tenant occupancy. Prior to that he worked in the construction industry. David and his wife Kim have been married for nineteen years and have three girls, ages 7, 10 and 13. His hobbies include martial arts and golfing.

Shannon T Smith, age 38 is a Vice President of Empire Corporation, as well as a member of Empire Management Services, LLC.

Shannon began with Empire in 1987 working on the construction crew. Not knowing a lot about construction, Mr. Azar started him at the bottom and he worked his way up from there. Now, Shannon runs the construction division of the company. He is responsible for bidding outside construction jobs, budgeting and all other aspects of project management. Being a family oriented business, Shannons’ responsibilities also overlap into the daily operation of all properties.

Shannon and his wife Lori, have been married for 12 years. They are raising their two children on the eastern shore in Queenstown. Shannon is an avid golfer and enjoys his time as the head coach of both of their children’s soccer teams.

Michele Maloney was born in Baltimore in 1968 and was raised in Maryland. She now lives in Pasadena with her husband of 12 years, John, and their two children, Cory, age 10, and Madison, age 5.

Michele came to Empire Corporation in 1987 as a secretary. She is now the assistant to Wilfred T. Azar, III, the President of the company and serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors.