Have no regrets!

Major Corrie Mays didn’t plan on joining the military. While in college, 9/11 happened, and she felt a strong call to service. Her family wanted Corrie to finish college and get a good job. In 2003, she graduated from the University of Georgia and worked for three years at a Forbes 100 job in Boston. But she still felt a greater calling. Almost an epiphany one morning, “I knew I wanted to be a Marine Corps Officer.”

Corrie’s father, Chuck “Sky King” King, had built and flown planes since he was 14 and was a commercial pilot for decades. Corrie had been around aviation all her life, and she was clear on her goal, “I wanted to fly jets!” She signed as a Naval Flight Officer, graduated Officer Candidate School in Quantico, VA to be commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, and then off to Flight School in Pensacola, FL where she finished initial flight school, ground school, then swim school. This was challenging since she had never flown an aircraft, but Corrie was up for the challenge. She finished top of her class, earning her a choice of platform and coast (Hornet versus Prowler and Miramar, San Diego versus Beaufort, SC). She chose to fly the F/A-18 Hornet out of Miramar…the best flying around.

She served first with the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 225, known as the “Vikings.” Corrie deployed twice: to Japan/Guam/Korea/Hawaii, and to the Middle East in Bahrain. After her deployments, Corrie spent three years as a Blue Angel (#8), where she organized air shows across the nation that showcased the US Navy and Marine Corps air power, pride and professionalism, and service to community. In 2018, after 12 years of active duty, Corrie transitioned to the Reserves.

That was not her only transition. During one of her final leaves in 2017, Corrie was back on Cape Cod with her family. It was then she found out that Plum Porch, a long-established gift shop on the Cape, had gone out of business. The store was completely vacant, and it was unknown if it would ever re-open as a gift shop. Corrie and her sister Samantha always knew they would someday have a business together. Plum Porch was their destiny – they purchased the business and reopened the gift shop. Samantha ran the business while Corrie finished her last year on active duty, and Corrie supported the business remotely. In 2018, Corrie moved back to the Cape with her husband, Gabe, also a US Marine officer, and the rest is Plum Porch history.

What Corrie did not realize at the time, was how much her military experience would be used to restart a small village gift shop. “ Work ethic – huge! Perseverance – huge! Determination – huge! And working relationships – huge!” As a result, Plum Porch is again the #1 ranked gift shop on Cape Cod.