The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below. Check out our favorite stories from across the Voyage family.
Thomasina Turner
Honestly, it all started because I was a mom just trying to figure things out. About twenty years ago, I was raising my four-year-old son after he was diagnosed with Autism. Back then, there weren’t many resources available, and a lot of childcare centers and schools just didn’t know how to support children like him. Read more>>
Belle Bermudez-Tubel
Honestly, TuBelle Photography wasn’t the plan. I had a motherhood blog (One Awesome Momma) that I was running for years. In 2019, I realized blogging wasn’t really it for me. Thinking what else I could do, I set my sights on starting a social media consulting business instead since I was able to grow my following for the blog. Read more>>
Danelle Johnson
I have skyrocketed past the failure ratio of what society says for children who grow up in the foster care system. In middle school, I received the Best Dress Award which helped solidify my fashion beginnings. I graduated from Old Dominion University. Read more>>
Chip Rome
Starting early on I was exposed to plays and acting. From high school onward I began directing shows in camps and school, and majored in Theatre Arts and also in Economics. My first teaching job was in Theatre and English at a small private school just outside London. That’s where I learned all that I hadn’t learned (theatre is much more than just acting)! Read more>>
Sierra Clickner
I’m originally from Michigan and pursued Musical Theater at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC and finished my Bachelors in Los Angeles. While there I did gigs here and there and also sang for Norwegian Cruise Lines. However over the past few years my career has changed drastically and I am now on an endeavor of creating original music. Read more>>
Paul Bennis
As far back as I can remember, I’ve always felt a great urge to help people however I could. My dad thinks it might have been due to my fascination with superhero media, especially <i>The Power Rangers</i>, that I chose law enforcement as my first career after attending Old Dominion University. Read more>>
Mark Gilvey
The Beginning: Foundational Mastery (1985) My professional journey began with a formal foundation at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, where I graduated in 1985 with an associate degree in Specialized Technologies for Photography and Multi-Image. Coming up in that era meant cutting my teeth on the uncompromising mechanics of large-format cameras, complex E-6 chemistry, and Ansel Adams’ Zone System. Read more>>
Chelsea Williamson & Paige Becker
Milk & Honey Events was born from a shared passion between sisters, Paige & Chelsea, for bringing people together and creating meaningful experiences. After planning our own weddings (Paige in 2022, Chelsea in 2024) we both saw how much detail and effort goes into planning, as well as how confusing the industry can be to navigate without direction. Read more>>
Jenny Moonen
From Dream to Doorstep: The Story of Moonlight Manor Nestled in the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains just outside the quirky little town of Floyd, Virginia, sits Moonlight Manor Bed and Breakfast, a charming five-room bed and breakfast born from a dream that refused to fade. Read more>>
Mikail Syed
I was moving states, from Iowa City to Fairfax, Virginia. Iowa is actually a pretty small town, so everyone knew each other. The same can’t be said in Fairfax, where people are making friends well into their 40s-50s. I was in college in Blacksburg, Virginia, and struggled to make friends for a long time, so I explored some hobbies to pass time. Read more>>
Stephanie Adams Jazlyn Rowe
Wild Daisy Boutique is much more than a clothing store—it represents healing, hope, and a dream that grew out of a difficult season in our lives. We’re Stephanie and Jazlyn, a mother-daughter team with a shared love of fashion and helping women feel confident. Read more>>
Philip Ramsey
So many ask me how I started my art journey and my reply is always “when my mother gave me crayons at age three”. I have been self taught except for several years apprenticeship under John DeLa Vega, an internationally renowned portrait artist from Argentina. I began my professional career as a muralist then gravitated towards easel art. Read more>>
Brittany Bowser
I have always had the heart of an entrepreneur, and I remember having conversations with my mother about eventually freeing myself from corporate life. I believe it is through trial and error that most entrepreneurs finally find their true passion and what they feel called to do. Read more>>
LM Designs8
For as long as I can remember I have always been in love with the code and immersive sides of art. When I was young and went to the Disney Store I wouldn’t try on the clothes or be searching for the next toy I was trying to figure out how if I tap this screen does it fill with the color that I wanted? Read more>>
Ekaterina Kravchenko
Fashion has always been more than clothing to me—it has been a way to help people feel confident, seen, and authentic. My career didn’t begin in personal styling. I earned a degree in linguistics and intercultural communication, later completed a master’s degree in education, and spent years working in retail leadership and education. Read more>>
Nathan Ingram
When COVID hit, I was working an IT sales job and stuck at home like the rest of the world. I started making sourdough bread, and then sourdough pizza on the Big Green Egg. It was getting better and better to the point where I quit my job and bought a food truck to pursue my passion for great pizza. Read more>>
Ann Bosiack
I founded Veterinary Vision Specialists because I wanted to create the kind of specialty practice I believed in—one centered on exceptional patient care, strong relationships with referring veterinarians, and a positive, supportive workplace. Earlier in my career, I experienced a work environment that wasn’t aligned with those values, and it reinforced for me how important culture is to both employees and clients. Read more>>
Vanessa Hanson
Like many new and small businesses, mine was born during Covid. I have always loved stationery, which evolved from loving school supplies as a kid. I loved getting new notebooks, pencils, Lisa Frank erasers, it all brought so much joy. As an adult, that evolved to having all those things neatly on my desk and showing up to meetings with a great pen and notebook. Read more>>
Toney Baumbach
Plumbing has been part of my family’s story for nearly a century, with our roots in the trade going back to 1928. I grew up riding along with my father, earned my Master Plumber’s license at 21, and our family is proud to include the first female Master Plumber in the United States. In many ways, plumbing has always been part of who I am. Read more>>
Tomika Anderson
My career began in journalism, where I spent years writing and producing for major outlets, profiling celebrities from Rihanna to Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, Serena Williams, Dave Chappelle, and Usher. When I became pregnant with my son, I transitioned into federal consulting and government contracting because stability mattered more than ever. But I never stopped building. Read more>>
Fran Knight
How I started this business was I had an interest in bringing something fun and creative to the Williamsburg area that they have never seen before which is the Williamsburg selfie Museum. It has been a passion project of mine to see families come and enjoy a creation that I thought of and put together with over 30 themed interactive attractions in one space. Read more>>
Chelsea Anderson
Meet Chelsea Anderson Passion. Purpose. Resilience. Ever since I was a little girl, I always knew I wanted to work with animals and be the voice they did not have. My family rarely took our pets to the vet unless something was wrong, let alone a groomer. I knew nothing about pet grooming until I started working at an animal hospital when I turned 18. Read more>>
Michele (and Matt) Rogers
Matt and Michele Rogers have been married for 19 years and in that time, have moved and adventured quite a bit! Owning a glamping business wasn’t exactly a long-held dream, but they’ve found much of their joint life circumstances have prepared them to be ideal owners of this kind of business. Read more>>
Andrew Sorlouangsana
I started this lawn care business the summer after freshman year of high school. I wanted to make money, and I knew that I wanted to start a business to be my own boss. I went with lawn care because everyone knows how to cut grass right? It can’t be that hard I said to myself. Read more>>
JayQuan Whitley
Honestly, music found me before I really understood what it was. I started singing when I was six years old in church. That was my first stage, my first audience, and where I learned that music could move people. It wasn’t about becoming an artist back then. It was just something that lived inside me. Read more>>
Amanda Gonzalez Bonzo Gailan Wilson
Sur de Soi was built on a lifelong love of photography, creativity, and helping people see themselves in a new light. Amanda grew up in Virginia’s Tidewater region and moved to Charlottesville more than a decade ago to attend the University of Virginia. Photography became a passion during college and quickly evolved into a career. Read more>>
Victoria Collins Debbie Cline
We came to Buzzy Rocket with different but highly complementary experiences. Debbie spent more than 25 years leading revenue growth and customer experience for startups and public companies around the world. Victoria built her career in startup marketing and co-founded a technology startup, giving her firsthand experience building, marketing and scaling a company from the ground up. Read more>>
Sol Atkins
Sol developed an interest in fixing things when he was 11 years old. When his busy father was taking too long to finish building his treehouse, Sol jumped in. The experience instilled in him a passion for construction and repair, as he saw for the first time that he was capable of building something with his own hands. Read more>>
Trevor Ruble
I am a former college basketball player and recent graduate of Liberty University. I grew up seeing how hard work and dedication opens doors through sports, but most importantly I saw the relationships I was able to form because of it. Read more>>
Jamain Gordon
Believe it or not, my career path began to take shape when I was in the 8th grade after watching the movie Two Can Play that Game starring Vivica A. Fox. Seeing a strong Black woman commanding rooms and living an accomplished life, I wanted to be her. Read more>>
Travis Penn
Delta Blues BBQ was built on a simple belief: great barbecue can’t be rushed. What began as a passion for smoking meat the traditional way slowly grew into a dream of creating a place where people could gather over incredible food, live music, and Southern hospitality. We didn’t set out to build just another restaurant—we wanted to build an experience. Read more>>
Angela Hollowell
People often see the businesses I have today, but they don’t always see the journey that shaped them. Like many entrepreneurs, I didn’t begin with a perfect plan. I began with a deep desire to help people discover what they were capable of and build lives that reflected who they truly were. Along the way, I experienced seasons of uncertainty, reinvention, and growth. Read more>>
