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ORAL HISTORY

Jeff Tilley

Oyster Boss

Jeff Tilley, born in 1958, was raised in Owensboro, Kentucky. After graduating from the University of Louisville, he got a job in the building systems industry in Pensacola, Florida. When that business closed, he began his own business installing commercial fire alarms. He traveled to many different parts of the Florida Panhandle for work. Tilley was charmed by rural Wakulla County. In 1999, he and his family moved to Sopchoppy, Florida.

Tilley’s son, Reid, grew up outdoors hunting and fishing. As he grew up, Reid’s interest in the outdoors informed his career decisions. After he learned about the Wakulla Environmental Institute, Reid decided to farm oysters. In 2015, he graduated from the program. In 2016, Reid and Jeff Tilley began Oyster Boss, an oyster aquaculture business. Reid and his crew farm oysters on their lease in Alligator Harbor. Jeff markets and sells the oysters his son grows to restaurants throughout Florida and at their retail facility in Sopchoppy, Florida.