Read To Succeed - Rutherford County

Rebecca Upton is a Supervisor with Dempsey Vantrease and Follis PLLC in Murfreesboro. Rebecca joined the Read To Succeed Board in 2009. She graduated from MTSU with a BS in Accounting and Masters of Business Administration. As a lifelong resident of Rutherford County, Rebecca is committed to promoting literacy within our community and believes that the work of Read To Succeed directly impacts our citizens and makes our community more productive. In addition to serving on the Read To Succeed Executive Board, Rebecca also serves as a board member for Junior League of Murfreesboro, MTSU Accounting Advisory Board, and Blue Raider Athletic Association.

Scott Walker is the Vice President of WGNS Radio and serves on the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters Board Directors for radio and television in Tennessee. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Angie Heydel Walker and has two extremely smart and overly active children ages 5 (Olivia) and 8 (Reed). Walker is a 2003 graduate of Leadership Rutherford and is also a graduate of the National Association of Broadcasters Executive Development Program at Georgetown University.

Kristina Brown is the Minister of Community Ministries and Communications at First Baptist Church. Kristina also coordinates the special needs
ministry at First Baptist including L.E.A.R.N., a ministry to families with
special needs teens and young adults.

Kristina serves as Moderator of the Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, secretary of the Long-term Disaster Recovery Organization of Rutherford & Cannon Counties, on the Rutherford County Habitat for Humanity's Church Relations Committee, the Big Brothers Big Sisters' Ambassador's Circle, the Read To Succeed Adult Literacy Council, and was co-chair of the 2010-11
Rutherford County "One Book" Committee.

Kristina is married to Jeff Brown, president of Financial Services &
Solutions and they have one son, Reid.

Mary Esther Reed is the Vice Mayor of the Town of Smyrna. She is also the owner of the educational supply store The Learning Circle in Murfreesboro. Mary Esther, a graduate of MTSU and avid MTSU sports fan, is married to Britt Reed. They have one son, Parker.

Bill Shacklett
Shacklett's Photography

John Hood, Read To Succeed's Executive Board Chair, presently works as Director of Community Engagement and Support for MTSU. He served six terms as State Representative for the 48th District in Rutherford County.
Born and raised in Rutherford County, he served for more than 20 years as Vice President for Marketing at SunTrust Bank in Rutherford County. He also serves on the boards of several other local non-profits. Mr. Hood lives with his wife in Murfreesboro. They have three children and
four grandchildren.

Jimmy Hart has been on the Read To Succeed Executive Board since 2007. He is the immediate Past President. Mr. Hart has been the executive editor at The Daily News Journal since spring 2006. He is a West Tennessee native and UT Knoxville graduate. He lives with his wife, Carla, and three teenage sons in the Blackman area of Murfreesboro and attends the Destiny Center Church on Memorial. He believes "literacy is the most important skill to have in order to grow and prosper, especially in the information age in which we now live."

Mary Wade is the Board Chair for Murfreesboro City Schools. She
believes that literacy is the key to understanding. Through her work with Murfreesboro City Schools, she appreciates partners such as Read To Succeed for helping to make sure there is a resource for family members to learn to read. She says the atmosphere is warm and the tutors are kind and willing to give of their time. She believes in the saying, "School is never out. It IS out if you can’t read or your reading skills are limited." Read To Succeed, she says, is a blessing for so many.

Angie Boyd-Chambers is the Director of Public Relations with Middle Tennessee Medical Center and is responsible for media relations, marketing and communications for the 286 patient bed hospital. Boyd-Chambers is currently a member of the Business Women’s Council through the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and Rutherford CABLE where she received the 2009-2010 Rising Star Award. She and her husband, Matt, live in Murfreesboro with their son, Cole.

Dawn White

Shawn McFarland

Judge Steve Daniel

Dr. Martin McCullough

Greg Tucker