MAXWELL, Al., Oct. 27, 2022 -- Crystal Kingery, a sole proprietor, has announced the company has joined the National Diversity Veteran Small Business (NDVSB) / Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) eMarketplace, powered by ePS. ePS a leading provider of eMarketplace solutions, which is helping connect both federal and private corporations with diverse businesses. As a US Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce, Military Spouse-Owned certified firm, Crystal Kingery can now provide essential military and law enforcement tactical gear & apparel to Air Force and Army DoD government purchase card-holders (GPC). With its Military Spouse-Owned certification, Crystal Kingery gained access to the NDVSB/AAFES eMarketplace through the Air Force 'First Look' Program as a Small Business Partner. The Air Force is making it easier for installation GPC users to do business with local communities by introducing the First Look Program. The First Look Program is a wing commander-driven initiative for employing purchasing power to GPC users and will allow wings throughout the Air Force to align their micro-purchase spending with the Secretary of the Air Force’s vision for smarter business practices. Maj. Gen. Cameron Holt, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics deputy assistant secretary for Contracting said Air Force GPC holders spend $1.8 billion annually. “We want you to look here first,” said Maj. Gen. Cameron Holt, “Because we want to support our local communities and the jobs right outside our gates before we look elsewhere.” About Crystal Kingery: As a certified Military Spouse-Owned and Woman-Owned small business, in addition to providing consulting services to small businesses, I am also a product reseller of Military and Law Enforcement Tactical Gear & Apparel. Through the Air Force 'First Look' Program I sell to Department of Defense (DoD) Army and Air Force government purchase card-holders (GPC) through the AAFES eMarketplace. Residing in the local community of Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery Alabama. About NDVSB
Our NDVSB programs leverage our all-inclusive, one size does not fit all, eMarketplace that aligns Veteran, Diversity, and Small Business products and service Suppliers with the Private and Public sector Buying Organizations. Our mission is to build stronger diverse small businesses through technology that automates and streamlines business processes, providing increased revenue opportunities and scalability to compete within large Private Enterprise and Public Sector accounts. Now that I’m feeling a bit more like myself and have a long wait for my next step. I think it’s time that I share my journey of surviving breast cancer this year, in hopes of helping other women get detected early.
When I turned 40 I began my yearly mammograms. I was told I had extremely dense breast tissue but that was about it on the subject. Got the all clear and waited till the next year with an all clear again. In 2020 I noticed something in my right breast and since it was that time of the year again I did another routine mammogram and that time they also ordered an ultrasound, because I had a physical lump . They couldn’t see anything concerning and said it was dilated ducts and fibrocystic changes. No biggie. Life went on. Well we moved shortly after that in 2020, COVID hit, most things down, I took my time (really I put off) establishing new doctors and did not do my mammogram in 2021 but scheduled one in February 2022. After that mammogram I got a call back that they wanted to do additional images because they saw some possible calcifications in one area. I did multiple images on one area and then an ultrasound. The tech could not see anything in the area she was designated to look at. For what ever reason she moved to a different area and something caught her attention. They ordered a biopsy and a breast MRI. In March this year, the biopsy pathology came back, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC) as well as Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS). The IDC was a small area (11mm) and considered low grade, which means it was not aggressive nor fast spreading. My heart sank, to hear that I had breast cancer, I was in a state of shock for a while. I met with a breast surgeon and was optimistic about the outcome and chose to do a lumpectomy and just have the tumor removed. Well, about a week later I got the results back from the MRI and they detected three additional suspicious areas. I went in for yet more biopsies. The results from those biopsies was a second IDC mass (5mm) in the same breast and two very small satellite masses around the original mass. Then the kicker was it was also in my other breast, yet another type of cancer, Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC). It was like being diagnosed all over again, 2 weeks apart from each other. So now I have breast cancer in both my breasts and 3 different kinds of cancer. How did this happen? Luckily all areas were considered low grade, small tumor size and stage 1. The crazy thing was the area I felt back in 2020 that was considered benign was now the ILC. Could it have been caught 2 years ago? I’ll never know I guess. On May 4 (May the 4th be with you is how we will forever remember the date) I had a double mastectomy with the start of reconstruction. Recovery was brutal and way more than I had imagined. It knocked me down, plus I had some blood flow complications (more on that later) but now that I am 3 months post-op I’m feeling pretty good. Next step is my final reconstruction with implants in October. I will continue to share as I can, I’m not one for doing this so writing it out does not come natural for me. But I want to share so that I encourage others to be proactive, get checked regularly and if you have ever been told you have dense breast tissue please please request an ultrasound in addition to your mammogram. It literally might have just saved my life. |
AuthorIndustrial & Commercial Supplier, Small Business Consultant, and Military Spouse. ArchivesCategories |