No (more) trouble

Travis Crocker, R’90, remembers being petrified when he was summoned to his neighbor’s house.

The then-12-year-old had been throwing rocks through the windows of abandoned homes with a few neighborhood friends in Wakefield, Virginia. Crocker was certain he was in trouble with Mr. Smith, the neighborhood Boy Scout leader.

“He does a complete 180 and ends up taking me to the arena near Parker Field to watch wrestling,” Crocker said. “Knowing that someone cared about me that much to reach out and make a difference made a huge impact on me. I never got into any trouble after that.”

Smith’s influence stuck fast and lasted. Crocker founded Edgewood Group Family Services — a nonprofit mental health agency — more than two decades ago. The Edgewood Group strives to reduce the likelihood of children or adults being removed from their home due to substance abuse, neglect, or emotional or behavioral disorders.

“I am never satisfied,” he said. “I’m always striving for perfection, even though I know I can never attain it.”

Success, however, looks different when it comes to counseling services for an ever-growing population of underserved individuals.

“We’ll get a letter or an email from someone in their 30s — who we saw when they were 15 or 16 — and they now have a family of their own and are finding ways to help and give back to the community,” Crocker said.

The 56-year-old has three grown children and a grandson, yet shows no signs of slowing down. Crocker, also an accomplished public speaker and real estate investor, still has a significant item on his professional bucket list.

“I have always wanted to build a community center in my hometown,” he said. “I will do that before I retire.”