Close to 200 of Cary's business leaders got together Thursday to talk about what's been working.

Despite the economic recession, some companies are actually doing well for themselves.

Cary's Chamber of Commerce honored some of them with their annual Small Business Awards luncheon.

The winners are listed as follows:

• Award for Innovation: Eye Care Center at Barnes & Noble Plaza
• Community Service Award: Kniffen Wealth Management
• Employer of the Year: Rush Hour Karting
• Entrepreneurial Award in Education: Cary High School
• Charitable Partner: The Carying Place
• Small Business of the Year: Rockett Interactive

"More than 80 percent of our members are from small to mid-size companies," said Diane Rupprecht, Chair-Elect of the Chamber's Board of Directors. "These businesses and their employees represent our strength as an organization, as well as what is best about our area."

Taking top honors was Rockett Interactive, an online advertising company.

Founder Mark Rockett says one of the keys is that he doesn't take things too seriously, and he points to company-wide Rock Band parties as proof.

What started out as a one-man business in Rockett's basement is now a 10-person operation that's managed to keep momentum building despite the times.

"They have experienced a revenue growth of 2,859 percent -- that's right, percent -- since 2004," said Rupprecht.

Rockett said his staff deserves a lot of credit, along with finding an advertising niche that tells clients precisely if they're getting what they pay for.

"Direct marketing has always been able to do that to some degree," said Rockett. "But online can do that in spades. It's one of the most measurable mediums in the history of advertising."

Despite that success, Rockett falls back on a one of the oldest techniques around when it comes to selling his own company.

"We built our business on word of mouth," said Rockett. "Just doing a great job servicing clients, servicing agencies."

The business is listed in the Inc. 500 as the 87th fastest growing company in the US, and Rockett hopes to keep that trend going.

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