GSA small-business advocate retires

Mary Parks, a long-time leader in the General Services Administration’s small business outreach, retired March 31.

Parks knows the history of GSA’s small business contracting very well, because she’s been the one making it for years.

Parks first proposed the idea of a small business solutions development center in the 1990s. GSA agreed. She then helped to set up GSA’s first indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract set aside solely for small businesses. It was the 8(a) Federal Acquisition Services for Technology (FAST) contract. It eventually became the 8(a) Streamlined Technology Acquisition Resources for Services (STARS) governmentwide acquisition contract. From there, GSA small-business contracts have grown in number and size.