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.
Dwayne Walton
I am the son of a 15 year old mother and an athlete with aspirations of playing national and professional soccer. I was born in Guyana South America and my mother’s pregnancy was unintended, unexpected and met with much derision and pressure to have an abortion. This pressure came from her parents and my father parents. This led to incredible trauma and suffering. Read more>>
Lucas Keener
I was born and raised in Lancaster, PA After graduating high-school i moved to Fort Lauderdale, FL to pursue an art education and post graduation I moved back to Lancaster where I currently reside and work. I have always loved drawing and telling stories and that naturally combined well into illustration and comics. Read more>>
Keith Lapp
I was working part time for a couple of guys, when I got one side job I did on my own. Realized the money is better when the customer is paying you directly. I talked it over with my wife and decided to start my own business up. Read more>>
Talon Barnett
Modern Era Grooming was born long before there was ever a shop with its name on the door. My journey into barbering began during some of the lowest moments of my life. I was young, lost, and without direction—repeating cycles that seemed to lead nowhere but further down. Read more>>
Kane Magruder
I grew up in a family of artist my father was an exceptional pastel artist. He always inspired and pushed my sister and I to embrace our creativity. So I started drawing and sketching out an early age 6 or seven years old. Read more>>
Aleah McGuigan (Farkas)
I believe every photograph becomes more valuable with time. Today, it’s a beautiful image. Years from now, it’s a memory. Decades from now, it becomes part of a family’s history. Long after were gone, those photographs tell future generations who came before them, how they loved, what they celebrated, and what mattered most. That belief is what inspired me to create Maple Lane Photography. Read more>>
Dimitri Samaras
My family’s baklava story began long before Yia Yia’s Baklava existed. The recipe has been passed down through five generations, beginning with my great-great-grandmother, who brought it with her when she immigrated to America from Asia Minor in the early 1900s. Read more>>
Kayla Pagan
I grew up in the restaurant industry. My grandfather and my father both owned restaurants, so hospitality has always been a part of my life. From a young age, I learned that owning a restaurant is about so much more than serving food—it’s about creating a place where people feel welcome, building relationships, and becoming a part of the community. Read more>>
Brenda Hodge
I’m often asked where I ran in college, and the answer usually surprises people — I never ran at Northwestern. My only “endurance training” back then came from marching with the band. I didn’t become a consistent runner until much later in life, after my fourth child, when running became my outlet for fitness and stress relief. Read more>>
Lori Rutter
We got into the business by accident. In August 2021, our family purchased a yard card sign rental to commemorate our parents’ 60th wedding anniversary. The owners were discontinuing the business because of a divorce, and I inquired about taking it over. We purchased some inventory and became the official affiliate for Yard Card Queen that covers the South Hills suburbs of Pittsburgh. Read more>>
Johanna Pitner
Like many entrepreneurs, my journey started with a passion for creativity and a desire to help others succeed. Early on, I realized that so many incredible business owners had amazing products and services, but struggled to communicate their value online. Social media often felt overwhelming, inconsistent, or like another item on an already full to do list. Read more>>
Lily Maina
My name is Lily Maina, and I am the founder of GrowthBridge Behavioral Health & Family Services, a division of Forever A Meaningful Intent of Loving You LLC. Originally from Kenya, I have always been passionate about helping people. That passion grew from personal experiences long before I entered the behavioral health field. Read more>>
Sean Sherrod
When I was 5 years clean from a 21 year stint of active addiction, I joined a network marketing company and that planted the seed of the importance of constant self promotion, That lead me to learn Photoshop for Logo design and flyers to help with marketing. Read more>>
Ray Schneider
My Story Q: What’s the difference between a pepperoni pizza and a photographer? A: A pepperoni pizza can feed a family of four. That’s the way I introduced one of my photography exhibits. Read more>>
David Knight
Chef David Knight’s heart and soul is ingrained in the culinary field. He has over 30 years’ experience as a professional chef, chef instructor and business owner. His vast experience in culinary and pastry, and diverse background has shaped him into the versatile and experienced Executive Chef/Business Owner he is today. Read more>>
Trevor Lehman
I started illustrating when I was about 8 years old, in 2nd grade. I had a lined journal that I would trace on cartoon characters from a book my dad had on how to draw well known cartoons. Read more>>
Wilfredo Soto
Barbering started for me 1995 after getting my professional barbers license through apprenticeship in established barber shop With a Barber teacher who mentored and helped hone Barber skills. After leaving there I bounced around from different shops and including a hair salon where again I came across a hairstylist teacher and owner who added to my education. Read more>>
Sean Bolton
As a child I’ve always been a watcher. My mother always said I was basically scanning everything I could from the day I could open my eyes. When I was younger I was always in bands and we would have a photographer come photograph us and at the time I remember feeling like it was a pretty cool gig. Read more>>
Marie Allen Kelly Doyle
We’ve both cherished The Releafery since it first opened its doors in 2019. We loved treating ourselves to the incredible selection of handmade and perfectly curated products and found it to be our go-to spot for the perfect gifts for friends and family. Read more>>
Roger & Trudy Unangst
Unangst Tree Farms started as a 100 acre dairy farm. In the early to mid 1980’s the Unangst children were mostly in college or living out of state. Dad got sick with cancer leaving no one available to take care of the cows. There was also another issue with the herd forcing the family to stop dairy farming. Read more>>
Maddie Kiefer
Photography has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember! Growing up, I was always the friend with a camera in hand, capturing the in between moments that most people would walk right past! Read more>>
Brian Hart
Serenescape Solutions started with a simple goal: build something we could be proud of while creating a better future for our families. I’ve spent over 16 years in the lawn care industry, learning every aspect of the business, but I always dreamed of building a company that reflected my own values. Read more>>
Vaughn Worrell
I started cutting hair when I was a junior in high school at 17 years old. I started my apprenticeship at Matt’s barbershop in Paoli, Pennsylvania. Matt is 80 years old and still cutting hair today. After getting my training and working in a few shops in the area, in 2007 I settled at Big Mike’s barbershop in West Chester, Pa owned by Mike Cooper. Read more>>
Randall Jones
I started my career in technology, helping large organizations solve major operational and technical problems. That led me into 18 years of public service, where I ultimately ended up as Deputy Head of Contracting Activity for the Drug Enforcement Administration overseeing hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts each year. Read more>>
Kristi Reed
I didn’t know it then, but at nineteen years old, giving birth to my first child would become the beginning of everything. I was a young, newly married mother who chose to give birth outside of the hospital at a birth center in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. At the time, I wasn’t thinking about careers or businesses. Read more>>
Latoya Washington
RhemaCreationz Global LLC was born from a vision God placed in my heart in 2011. What began as the simple idea of creating a faith-inspired T-shirt became much more than a clothing brand. Although I received the vision years earlier, it wasn’t until September 2018 that RhemaCreationz officially launched. Read more>>
Kellie Haenn
Prior to Alsies, I was a special education teacher for 5 years. After I had my first son, I decided I wanted to leave the teaching field so that I could be home with my kids. During these 8 years, I got my first taste of entrepreneurship by starting a residential cleaning that I managed from my home. Read more>>
Molly Lucas
When I was in high school, I knew pretty quickly that I was never going to be a lawyer or a doctor, so I started exploring careers that would allow me to be creative. I initially loved the idea of going into fashion design, but there was one small problem… I wasn’t particularly passionate about sewing. Read more>>
Marianna Curran
I have always been both business-minded and creative, and for a long time I thought those two parts of me lived in separate worlds. I went to graduate school at Cornell University for Hotel Administration and spent the early part of my career working with my family in our suburban restaurants. I loved the energy of hospitality. Read more>>
Eva and John Di Orio-Mortensen
John and I met online after we both went through divorces. We got to know each other, and I ended up moving out to Allentown, for a relief from the stresses of the city I was living in, Philadelphia. When I arrived, I found Allentown to be in despearate need of a contemporary art gallery. Read more>>
Donna Walter
I never imagined I would spend my career in the beauty and wellness industry. Since graduating from college, I’ve had several different careers—you could say I’m a “Jack of all trades.” One of my favorite roles was as a meeting planner, but in 1992 my company’s sales and marketing department was eliminated. Read more>>
Wannetta Wells
I will begin with the fact that my mother and my oldest sister were both in the Healthcare field and me being a young lady who witnessed them work on a regular basis, providing care for others. That not only gave me the inspiration, but I feel like it also triggered my desire to learn more about the healthcare field. Read more>>
Stephen Gurgovits
After graduating Penn State, I started my career in public accounting at KPMG in Pittsburgh, PA. While a great training ground for any young professional, I knew I wasn’t going to be in accounting long term. I eventually joined the Sports and Exhibition Authority in Pittsburgh and helped finance and track the construction of Acrisure Stadium, PNC Park and a new Convention Center. Read more>>
Megan Alpert
I’ve always been passionate about helping people, and I knew early on that I wanted a career where I could make a real difference in someone’s life. When I first entered the financial services industry over 20 years ago, I started in an entry-level position at Merrill Lynch. Read more>>
Evan Wills
Our company was started in 1984 by my dad, Richard Wills, providing solely tree services while my mom, Paula, managed the office. I started working with my dad during summers while in school. Read more>>
Rose Lamoureux
Hi, I’m Rose. Numbers fanatic. Arts junkie. Dog rescuer. By the time I reached the ripe old age of nine, my father taught me to balance the bank account for the family. While it was something my sleuthing hands and mind loved to do, I was always more in love with the arts. Read more>>
Linda Povey
I am an artist working in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Wellfleet, Massachusetts. After 30 years working as a creative executive in marketing and advertising. I began painting in 2012 and eventually transitioned to a career as an artist. I first visited the most remote part of Cape Cod in 1986, when I was 24 years old, and it had a profound impact on me. Read more>>
Joe Patterson
My barbering journey started early. In the 8th grade, I picked up clippers to cut my own hair. By the next year, my friends and teammates were lining up. Throughout high school, my mom’s basement became my first unofficial shop. Read more>>
Victoria Gabriella Gonzalez
I’m Victoria Gabriella, owner and Spa Director of Moon & Vine Spa in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. I’m also a mother of two, an herbalist, esthetician, spa therapist, educator and entrepreneur, but I’ve always considered myself an artist first. I simply work with a unique medium: the human body. With every treatment, I envision the skin and body as a painting, sculpture or musical instrument. Read more>>
Joanne Bish
Joanne Kohlhepp Bish returned to her hometown, DuBois, PA, after an exciting New York City-based culinary career. Drawing on the skill set developed throughout her career in hospitality and entrepreneurship, Joanne stepped into the role of an effective marketing director at DuBois Granite & Quartz and is now the owner and General Manager of DuBois Granite and Quartz, a stone fabrication company. Read more>>
