The Louisville District has a new deputy for small business. Crystal May took over the position following former deputy Jacque Gee’s retirement Dec. 2.
Having served the district’s contracting division many years, May was most recently chief of the division’s regional business oversight branch.
“I was in contracting for eight years, so this is kind of an extension of that,” said May. “Contracting and small business go hand in hand.”
The purpose of the small business office is to act as an advocate for small businesses wishing to do business with the Corps. This makes the small business deputy the face of the district in many circumstances.
“We do a lot of outreach,” explained Gee. “We are that ambassador for small business for this district.”
May started the transition into the small business office in early October, allowing her the rare opportunity to learn from the day-to-day experiences of her predecessor.
“This has been the greatest opportunity, honestly, to have this much overlap,” said Gee. “It never happens like this.”
May received her appointment letter Nov. 3 and dove right into daily operations of the small business deputy. She took part in the National Small Business Conference in New Orleans, which was attended by small business deputies from around the division.
“It gave us a chance to meet and catch up on things,” said May. “It was good to put faces with names and nice to be able to make those connections.”
“I’m excited to fill this vital role for the district and to serve as a senior leader in the organization,” May said. “The small business program has been very successful in the past and I look forward to continuing that success.”