Meet Rachel and Thad!
ABOUT RACHEL: Rachel Edwards Gibbs is the Founder and CEO of Mox Development. She is an entrepreneurial disrupter and challenger of the status quo. She currently oversees all functions of business at Mox, including strategic direction, development and acquisition, capital and investment performance, and partner relations.
Rachel is a veteran in the construction industry and understands the turnkey process necessary to deliver top quality products to market. Prior to the inception of Mox Development, she served as the Chief Growth Officer for Edwards Construction Services and she successfully led teams across the Southeastern United States for 15 years.
Rachel is married to John Gibbs and together they have two sons, Johnny and Waylon. John is a commercial general contractor. Their family shares many passions and interests, including Auburn football, live music, and spending time together in the mountains of Highlands, North Carolina. Rachel and John share a passion for golf; as John's family established the legendary Golf Channel with Arnold Palmer.
ABOUT THAD: Thad Boyd has led the Boyd Real Estate Group since its inception. Thad’s local knowledge and relationships have made a critical impact on both our ability to navigate business in the area as well as a monumental impact on our community as a whole. Thad has several distinctions in his professional life including but not limited to being the youngest CEO of one of the 50 largest privately owned Florida corporations. He held this distinction at the age of 25 when he was given the reigns of Mark III Van Conversions. Under his and his father’s leadership, Mark III became the largest Van and Truck Conversion company in the world. Thad and Julie have three beautiful children. Thad currently serves on the board of The Women’s Pregnancy Center, Extreme Solutions, and Kimberly’s Center.
--- ABOUT THE LITERACY COUNCIL ---
OUR MISSION: The Marion County Literacy Council enriches quality of life for adults in Ocala and Marion County by helping them build and improve their literacy skills. Our programs and services enhance people’s personal and professional circumstances—and create opportunity for them—one word at a time.
OUR VISION: The Marion County Literacy Council envisions an inclusive, equitable community in which every adult knows how to read and write capably and with confidence. We are committed to helping every adult acquire skills that will empower them to engage fully with, contribute to, and flourish within our community. We aspire to be a model provider of world-class literacy education in Ocala, greater Marion County, and beyond—and a place that makes a positive difference in people’s lives.
OUR SERVICES: The Marion County Literacy Council offers adult literacy services in the form of three core programs: Adult Basic Education (helping adults learn how to read and write); GED (helping adults earn their GEDs); and ESOL (helping adults become more capable, more confident speakers of English). We offer these services at our main downtown location, and also at a variety of locations across Marion County.
OUR WHY: In Marion County, an estimated 1 in 5 adults cannot read above a fifth-grade level. This means that everyday tasks that most of us take for granted are difficult for many adults in our community. Simple tasks such as paying a bill, helping a child with homework, grocery shopping, filling out a job application, or reading a prescription are overwhelming. It has also been shown that, on average, 100 hours of adult literacy education can raise a person’s annual income by as much as $10,000.
The Marion County Literacy Council serves and supports people in Ocala and Marion County who, historically, have been underserved or left behind. Our students are majority women (75%), they are majority people of color (60%), many of them live in rural and underserved communities, and almost all of them come from socio-economically disadvantaged families.
Low literacy is costly not only to individuals and families, but also to employers and to our community more broadly. Individuals with low literacy struggle to find employment and they often settle for low-paying jobs while fighting to increase their earning power to support their families. Perhaps most heartbreaking is the long-term effect that parents’ low literacy has on their children. Low literacy is an intergenerational ill: the strongest indicator of a child’s success in school is that child's mother’s level of education. By having the courage to seek our services, our students are trying to break the cycle of low education and poverty. The goal of the Marion County Literacy Council is to help aspiring adults in our community – especially those who are socio-economically disadvantaged – improve their quality of life by giving them critical tools to build better, happier lives for themselves and their families.