diff --git a/.mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.jar b/.mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.jar
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..f775b1c
Binary files /dev/null and b/.mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.jar differ
diff --git a/.mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.properties b/.mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.properties
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..a447c9f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.properties
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+distributionUrl=https://repo1.maven.org/maven2/org/apache/maven/apache-maven/3.5.2/apache-maven-3.5.2-bin.zip
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 26736e2..e247eaf 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -76,12 +76,6 @@ The project requires the following dependencies be installed on the host machine
 
 * Java Development Kit 8 or later
 
-and choose one of:
-* Apache Maven 3 or later
-* Gradle 2.12 or later \*
-
-\* The Gradle Wrapper is bundled with this project. Gradle tasks may be used without installing Gradle CLI by substituting `./gradlew` for `gradle` in the instructions below.
-
 and, optionally, install:
 * MySQL 5.5 or later \*
 
@@ -138,7 +132,7 @@ The `spring-boot:run` Maven goal performs the following workflow steps:
 To execute the `spring-boot:run` Maven goal, type the following command at a terminal prompt in the project base directory.
 
 ```
-mvn spring-boot:run
+./mvnw spring-boot:run
 ```
 
 Type `ctrl-C` to halt the web server.
@@ -159,7 +153,7 @@ The `test` Maven goal is designed to allow engineers the means to run the unit t
 To execute the `test` Maven goal, type the following command at a terminal prompt in the project base directory.
 
 ```
-mvn clean test
+./mvnw clean test
 ```
 
 #### package
@@ -177,7 +171,7 @@ The `package` Maven goal is designed to prepare the application for distribution
 To execute the `package` goal, type the following command at a terminal prompt in the project base directory.
 
 ```
-mvn clean package
+./mvnw clean package
 ```
 
 The application distribution artifact is placed in the /target directory and is named using the `artifactId` and `version` from the pom.xml file.  To run the JAR file use the following command:
@@ -215,10 +209,6 @@ The `bootRun` Gradle task performs the following workflow steps:
 To execute the `bootRun` Gradle task, type the following command at a terminal prompt in the project base directory.
 
 ```
-gradle clean bootRun
-
-...OR...
-
 ./gradlew clean bootRun
 ```
 
@@ -239,10 +229,6 @@ The `assemble` Gradle task is designed to allow engineers the means to compile t
 To execute the `assemble` Gradle task, type the following command at a terminal prompt in the project base directory.
 
 ```
-gradle clean assemble
-
-...OR...
-
 ./gradlew clean assemble
 ```
 
@@ -264,20 +250,12 @@ This task is ideal for use on continuous integration servers such as Jenkins, et
 To execute the `build` Gradle task, type the following command at a terminal prompt in the project base directory.
 
 ```
-gradle clean build
-
-...OR...
-
 ./gradlew clean build
 ```
 
 The `clean` and `build` tasks are the default tasks for this project.  Therefore, simply typing `gradle` (or `./gradlew` to use the Gradle Wrapper) will produce the same result as `gradle clean build`.
 
 ```
-gradle
-
-...OR...
-
 ./gradlew
 ```
 
@@ -308,10 +286,6 @@ The `encodePassword` Gradle task executes the `BCryptPasswordEncoderUtil` utilit
 To execute the `encodePassword` Gradle task, type the following command at a terminal prompt in the project base directory.
 
 ```
-gradle -q encodePassword -Pmainargs=<password>[,<password>]
-
-...OR...
-
 ./gradlew -q encodePassword -Pmainargs=<password>[,<password>]
 ```
 
diff --git a/mvnw b/mvnw
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e96ccd5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mvnw
@@ -0,0 +1,227 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Maven2 Start Up Batch script
+#
+# Required ENV vars:
+# ------------------
+#   JAVA_HOME - location of a JDK home dir
+#
+# Optional ENV vars
+# -----------------
+#   M2_HOME - location of maven2's installed home dir
+#   MAVEN_OPTS - parameters passed to the Java VM when running Maven
+#     e.g. to debug Maven itself, use
+#       set MAVEN_OPTS=-Xdebug -Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,server=y,suspend=y,address=8000
+#   MAVEN_SKIP_RC - flag to disable loading of mavenrc files
+# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+if [ -z "$MAVEN_SKIP_RC" ] ; then
+
+  if [ -f /etc/mavenrc ] ; then
+    . /etc/mavenrc
+  fi
+
+  if [ -f "$HOME/.mavenrc" ] ; then
+    . "$HOME/.mavenrc"
+  fi
+
+fi
+
+# OS specific support.  $var _must_ be set to either true or false.
+cygwin=false;
+darwin=false;
+mingw=false
+case "`uname`" in
+  CYGWIN*) cygwin=true ;;
+  MINGW*) mingw=true;;
+  Darwin*) darwin=true
+    # Use /usr/libexec/java_home if available, otherwise fall back to /Library/Java/Home
+    # See https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/qa/qa1170/_index.html
+    if [ -z "$JAVA_HOME" ]; then
+      if [ -x "/usr/libexec/java_home" ]; then
+        export JAVA_HOME="`/usr/libexec/java_home`"
+      else
+        export JAVA_HOME="/Library/Java/Home"
+      fi
+    fi
+    ;;
+esac
+
+if [ -z "$JAVA_HOME" ] ; then
+  if [ -r /etc/gentoo-release ] ; then
+    JAVA_HOME=`java-config --jre-home`
+  fi
+fi
+
+if [ -z "$M2_HOME" ] ; then
+  ## resolve links - $0 may be a link to maven's home
+  PRG="$0"
+
+  # need this for relative symlinks
+  while [ -h "$PRG" ] ; do
+    ls=`ls -ld "$PRG"`
+    link=`expr "$ls" : '.*-> \(.*\)$'`
+    if expr "$link" : '/.*' > /dev/null; then
+      PRG="$link"
+    else
+      PRG="`dirname "$PRG"`/$link"
+    fi
+  done
+
+  saveddir=`pwd`
+
+  M2_HOME=`dirname "$PRG"`/..
+
+  # make it fully qualified
+  M2_HOME=`cd "$M2_HOME" && pwd`
+
+  cd "$saveddir"
+  # echo Using m2 at $M2_HOME
+fi
+
+# For Cygwin, ensure paths are in UNIX format before anything is touched
+if $cygwin ; then
+  [ -n "$M2_HOME" ] &&
+    M2_HOME=`cygpath --unix "$M2_HOME"`
+  [ -n "$JAVA_HOME" ] &&
+    JAVA_HOME=`cygpath --unix "$JAVA_HOME"`
+  [ -n "$CLASSPATH" ] &&
+    CLASSPATH=`cygpath --path --unix "$CLASSPATH"`
+fi
+
+# For Mingw, ensure paths are in UNIX format before anything is touched
+if $mingw ; then
+  [ -n "$M2_HOME" ] &&
+    M2_HOME="`(cd "$M2_HOME"; pwd)`"
+  [ -n "$JAVA_HOME" ] &&
+    JAVA_HOME="`(cd "$JAVA_HOME"; pwd)`"
+  # TODO classpath?
+fi
+
+if [ -z "$JAVA_HOME" ]; then
+  javaExecutable="`which javac`"
+  if [ -n "$javaExecutable" ] && ! [ "`expr \"$javaExecutable\" : '\([^ ]*\)'`" = "no" ]; then
+    # readlink(1) is not available as standard on Solaris 10.
+    readLink=`which readlink`
+    if [ ! `expr "$readLink" : '\([^ ]*\)'` = "no" ]; then
+      if $darwin ; then
+        javaHome="`dirname \"$javaExecutable\"`"
+        javaExecutable="`cd \"$javaHome\" && pwd -P`/javac"
+      else
+        javaExecutable="`readlink -f \"$javaExecutable\"`"
+      fi
+      javaHome="`dirname \"$javaExecutable\"`"
+      javaHome=`expr "$javaHome" : '\(.*\)/bin'`
+      JAVA_HOME="$javaHome"
+      export JAVA_HOME
+    fi
+  fi
+fi
+
+if [ -z "$JAVACMD" ] ; then
+  if [ -n "$JAVA_HOME"  ] ; then
+    if [ -x "$JAVA_HOME/jre/sh/java" ] ; then
+      # IBM's JDK on AIX uses strange locations for the executables
+      JAVACMD="$JAVA_HOME/jre/sh/java"
+    else
+      JAVACMD="$JAVA_HOME/bin/java"
+    fi
+  else
+    JAVACMD="`which java`"
+  fi
+fi
+
+if [ ! -x "$JAVACMD" ] ; then
+  echo "Error: JAVA_HOME is not defined correctly." >&2
+  echo "  We cannot execute $JAVACMD" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+if [ -z "$JAVA_HOME" ] ; then
+  echo "Warning: JAVA_HOME environment variable is not set."
+fi
+
+CLASSWORLDS_LAUNCHER=org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher
+
+# traverses directory structure from process work directory to filesystem root
+# first directory with .mvn subdirectory is considered project base directory
+find_maven_basedir() {
+
+  if [ -z "$1" ]
+  then
+    echo "Path not specified to find_maven_basedir"
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  basedir="$1"
+  wdir="$1"
+  while [ "$wdir" != '/' ] ; do
+    if [ -d "$wdir"/.mvn ] ; then
+      basedir=$wdir
+      break
+    fi
+    # workaround for JBEAP-8937 (on Solaris 10/Sparc)
+    if [ -d "${wdir}" ]; then
+      wdir=`cd "$wdir/.."; pwd`
+    fi
+    # end of workaround
+  done
+  echo "${basedir}"
+}
+
+# concatenates all lines of a file
+concat_lines() {
+  if [ -f "$1" ]; then
+    echo "$(tr -s '\n' ' ' < "$1")"
+  fi
+}
+
+BASE_DIR=`find_maven_basedir "$(pwd)"`
+if [ -z "$BASE_DIR" ]; then
+  exit 1;
+fi
+
+export MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR=${MAVEN_BASEDIR:-"$BASE_DIR"}
+if [ "$MVNW_VERBOSE" = true ]; then
+  echo $MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR
+fi
+MAVEN_OPTS="$(concat_lines "$MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR/.mvn/jvm.config") $MAVEN_OPTS"
+
+# For Cygwin, switch paths to Windows format before running java
+if $cygwin; then
+  [ -n "$M2_HOME" ] &&
+    M2_HOME=`cygpath --path --windows "$M2_HOME"`
+  [ -n "$JAVA_HOME" ] &&
+    JAVA_HOME=`cygpath --path --windows "$JAVA_HOME"`
+  [ -n "$CLASSPATH" ] &&
+    CLASSPATH=`cygpath --path --windows "$CLASSPATH"`
+  [ -n "$MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR" ] &&
+    MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR=`cygpath --path --windows "$MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR"`
+fi
+
+WRAPPER_LAUNCHER=org.apache.maven.wrapper.MavenWrapperMain
+
+exec "$JAVACMD" \
+  $MAVEN_OPTS \
+  -classpath "$MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR/.mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.jar" \
+  "-Dmaven.home=${M2_HOME}" "-Dmaven.multiModuleProjectDirectory=${MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR}" \
+  ${WRAPPER_LAUNCHER} $MAVEN_CONFIG "$@"
diff --git a/mvnw.cmd b/mvnw.cmd
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..4f0b068
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mvnw.cmd
@@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
+@REM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+@REM Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+@REM or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+@REM distributed with this work for additional information
+@REM regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+@REM to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+@REM "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+@REM with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+@REM
+@REM    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+@REM
+@REM Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+@REM software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+@REM "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+@REM KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+@REM specific language governing permissions and limitations
+@REM under the License.
+@REM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+@REM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+@REM Maven2 Start Up Batch script
+@REM
+@REM Required ENV vars:
+@REM JAVA_HOME - location of a JDK home dir
+@REM
+@REM Optional ENV vars
+@REM M2_HOME - location of maven2's installed home dir
+@REM MAVEN_BATCH_ECHO - set to 'on' to enable the echoing of the batch commands
+@REM MAVEN_BATCH_PAUSE - set to 'on' to wait for a key stroke before ending
+@REM MAVEN_OPTS - parameters passed to the Java VM when running Maven
+@REM     e.g. to debug Maven itself, use
+@REM set MAVEN_OPTS=-Xdebug -Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,server=y,suspend=y,address=8000
+@REM MAVEN_SKIP_RC - flag to disable loading of mavenrc files
+@REM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+@REM Begin all REM lines with '@' in case MAVEN_BATCH_ECHO is 'on'
+@echo off
+@REM set title of command window
+title %0
+@REM enable echoing my setting MAVEN_BATCH_ECHO to 'on'
+@if "%MAVEN_BATCH_ECHO%" == "on"  echo %MAVEN_BATCH_ECHO%
+
+@REM set %HOME% to equivalent of $HOME
+if "%HOME%" == "" (set "HOME=%HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%")
+
+@REM Execute a user defined script before this one
+if not "%MAVEN_SKIP_RC%" == "" goto skipRcPre
+@REM check for pre script, once with legacy .bat ending and once with .cmd ending
+if exist "%HOME%\mavenrc_pre.bat" call "%HOME%\mavenrc_pre.bat"
+if exist "%HOME%\mavenrc_pre.cmd" call "%HOME%\mavenrc_pre.cmd"
+:skipRcPre
+
+@setlocal
+
+set ERROR_CODE=0
+
+@REM To isolate internal variables from possible post scripts, we use another setlocal
+@setlocal
+
+@REM ==== START VALIDATION ====
+if not "%JAVA_HOME%" == "" goto OkJHome
+
+echo.
+echo Error: JAVA_HOME not found in your environment. >&2
+echo Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the >&2
+echo location of your Java installation. >&2
+echo.
+goto error
+
+:OkJHome
+if exist "%JAVA_HOME%\bin\java.exe" goto init
+
+echo.
+echo Error: JAVA_HOME is set to an invalid directory. >&2
+echo JAVA_HOME = "%JAVA_HOME%" >&2
+echo Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the >&2
+echo location of your Java installation. >&2
+echo.
+goto error
+
+@REM ==== END VALIDATION ====
+
+:init
+
+@REM Find the project base dir, i.e. the directory that contains the folder ".mvn".
+@REM Fallback to current working directory if not found.
+
+set MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR=%MAVEN_BASEDIR%
+IF NOT "%MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR%"=="" goto endDetectBaseDir
+
+set EXEC_DIR=%CD%
+set WDIR=%EXEC_DIR%
+:findBaseDir
+IF EXIST "%WDIR%"\.mvn goto baseDirFound
+cd ..
+IF "%WDIR%"=="%CD%" goto baseDirNotFound
+set WDIR=%CD%
+goto findBaseDir
+
+:baseDirFound
+set MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR=%WDIR%
+cd "%EXEC_DIR%"
+goto endDetectBaseDir
+
+:baseDirNotFound
+set MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR=%EXEC_DIR%
+cd "%EXEC_DIR%"
+
+:endDetectBaseDir
+
+IF NOT EXIST "%MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR%\.mvn\jvm.config" goto endReadAdditionalConfig
+
+@setlocal EnableExtensions EnableDelayedExpansion
+for /F "usebackq delims=" %%a in ("%MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR%\.mvn\jvm.config") do set JVM_CONFIG_MAVEN_PROPS=!JVM_CONFIG_MAVEN_PROPS! %%a
+@endlocal & set JVM_CONFIG_MAVEN_PROPS=%JVM_CONFIG_MAVEN_PROPS%
+
+:endReadAdditionalConfig
+
+SET MAVEN_JAVA_EXE="%JAVA_HOME%\bin\java.exe"
+
+set WRAPPER_JAR="%MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR%\.mvn\wrapper\maven-wrapper.jar"
+set WRAPPER_LAUNCHER=org.apache.maven.wrapper.MavenWrapperMain
+
+%MAVEN_JAVA_EXE% %JVM_CONFIG_MAVEN_PROPS% %MAVEN_OPTS% %MAVEN_DEBUG_OPTS% -classpath %WRAPPER_JAR% "-Dmaven.multiModuleProjectDirectory=%MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR%" %WRAPPER_LAUNCHER% %MAVEN_CONFIG% %*
+if ERRORLEVEL 1 goto error
+goto end
+
+:error
+set ERROR_CODE=1
+
+:end
+@endlocal & set ERROR_CODE=%ERROR_CODE%
+
+if not "%MAVEN_SKIP_RC%" == "" goto skipRcPost
+@REM check for post script, once with legacy .bat ending and once with .cmd ending
+if exist "%HOME%\mavenrc_post.bat" call "%HOME%\mavenrc_post.bat"
+if exist "%HOME%\mavenrc_post.cmd" call "%HOME%\mavenrc_post.cmd"
+:skipRcPost
+
+@REM pause the script if MAVEN_BATCH_PAUSE is set to 'on'
+if "%MAVEN_BATCH_PAUSE%" == "on" pause
+
+if "%MAVEN_TERMINATE_CMD%" == "on" exit %ERROR_CODE%
+
+exit /B %ERROR_CODE%