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.
Shay Jefferson
Seeing the gaps in local services, I founded the Family Resource Center of Cass County (FRCCC) and its flagship program, Bridge Over Troubled Water Food Pantry, to provide food, housing assistance, health connections, and other critical supports. Over the years I have launched creative initiatives such as the Mobile Market/Grocery Bus, A Place to Call Home affordable housing program, and Resource One Health Connection, all aimed at removing barriers for families, seniors, and individuals in crisis. Read more>>
Cedric Williams
It really started when I was a kid. I grew up in an entrepreneurial household—my grandfather owned Odyssey Martial Arts Supply here in Kansas City, and both of my parents ran their own businesses. That kind of spirit was all around me. I remember being 10 years old, selling candy door-to-door, designing little flyers, and passing them out around the neighborhood to offer lawn care. Read more>>
C. Allyson Walker
I’ve been a board-certified Cardiothoracic Surgeon since 2011, practicing for over a decade in hospital-based surgery. Throughout my cardiac career, I was always familiar with chronic venous insufficiency — or what most people know as varicose veins. I had worked with these veins countless times in the operating room, often harvesting them for bypass procedures. Read more>>
Charniece Rollie
In the heart of the Kansas City Metropolitan area, one woman’s dedication to service, integrity, and community has given rise to one of the area’s most trusted mobile notary and signing service providers — Rollie Mobile Notary Services. Read more>>
Kami Jones
In the heart of St. Joseph, Missouri, where the echoes of history linger in brick and stone, a quiet revolution began in 1968. George Glore, a dedicated employee at State Hospital #2, was preparing for Mental Health Awareness Week. Read more>>
Rebecca Darley
We are originally from Joliet, Illinois. We always loved staying in bed and breakfasts when we traveled and were intrigued by owning one ourselves someday. When we shared our dream of innkeeping with friends and family, they responded that they could not think of two people who would be more perfect innkeepers. Read more>>
Cara Gruhala
I worked in a completely different industry for nearly the first 10 years of my career, deciding to return to graduate school in my late 20s. I made a career jump from HR to counseling because in my role as an HR employee I loved talking with so many people and learning about their stories. Read more>>
Abbigale Porter
I am beyond excited to be part of the new thermal bath experience coming to life right here in the heart of the West Bottoms. The spa world has been my home for over a decade, and throughout that time I’ve fallen in love with the art of caring for guests—helping people find nourishment, balance, and little moments of pause for themselves. Read more>>
Jeff Quast
I graduated from DeVry University in February of 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems in 1985. I landed my first job at First Data Resources in Omaha and was there from 1985-1987. In 1987 I decided I wanted to back to the Kansas City area and found a job at DST Systems. Read more>>
Sarah Young
Amy and I have very different personal experiences that have shaped us on our doula journeys. My first exposure to birth per se was when I was living in Haiti immediately after college. Read more>>
Aaron Paris
Switchback Outdoor Safety began in early 2018 with a simple goal—help people explore and work off-road safely. Founded by Aaron Paris, a professional safety leader and certified off-road instructor, Switchback was born from a blend of tactical training, vehicle recovery experience, and a passion for responsible adventure. Read more>>
Dr. Jeannisa Bowden
Hi, my name is Jeannisa Bowden. Married 33 years to Arthur Bowden. We have one son, Arthur Bowden Jr., daughter-in-law, Macie. I have 30+ years of experience in conventional healthcare. Nursing and caring for people have always been my passion. I started as a Certified Nursing Assistant in a Skilled Nursing Facility and in a hospital for 11 years. Read more>>
Taylor Guzman
I’ve always loved to draw, but I really wanted to find a way to actually make money doing something I enjoy. I’m completely self-taught, so when I started doing caricatures, it was a lot of trial and error. When I first began, I didn’t have the courage to draw people live—it was nerve-wracking! Read more>>
Anna Wells
I started my photography journey LAST YEAR (believe it or not), a little after my second daughter (Jane) was born. It was really important for me to be able to find a job where I was able to stay at home, since my first child (Lily) was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Read more>>
Ryan Wooden
I got started in the mortage industry in 2022 after I had used LeaderOne Financial for my personal mortgage on my first home a few years prior. I had identified a gap in the industry that I thought I would be able to make in impact if I joined up with my loan officer and her team. Read more>>
Mike Warner
Construction Specialties started in 2015 out of a desire to provide a service that focused on the customer’s needs and the experience they had during the residential remodeling process. Not just craftsmanship. Over the years we have grown from 1 person, me, to a small group and two partners, to a team of 16 employees. Read more>>
Sara Heaton
I was first introduced to photography through a good friend that had a professional camera in my late teen years. We would go out taking fun pictures with her as the photographer and me as the model and I fell in love with the art of taking photos. And not just taking the images but also the post-production of making those photographs pop. Read more>>
Natalie Meredith
In 2020 I was GM of a dog training academy when my boss and life partner became an unhealthy living situation. After it escalated to domestic violence in 2021, my child and I went to live in a shelter. It was there that I qualified for a program at Pawsperity to become a dog groomer. Read more>>
Stephanie Eastwood
At first I enrolled into college to start nursing school. I quickly learned that I was not a great fit for nursing. I was talking to my daughter whom was 14 at the time about what I should do. She asked me “Mom, what do you enjoy doing?” I responded Well I love to cook. Read more>>
Heidi Oh
I started my career back in 2004 as a labor and postpartum doula. Eventually, I opened Kansas City’s first doula agency. I loved supporting families through birth — especially watching women move from fear to empowerment. Helping someone learn to trust their body, advocate for themselves, and discover strength they didn’t even know they had was powerful. Read more>>
Shannon Stafford
My love of baking started with Christmas baking with my mom as a young child. Over the years my baking turned into a passion. Owning a bakery was always a pipe dream in my mind, but my fiancé now husband found a local cookie bakery for sale during the pandemic in 2020. After many long discussions we decided to take the risk. Read more>>
Erica Thowe
I grew up in a small-town farmhouse where my parents were always fixing up our home, and even as a child I felt the joy of creating spaces that felt refreshed and welcoming. By the time I was six, I was already rearranging my own room and even organizing friends’ rooms. Read more>>
Steve High
Back in 2017 a friend asked me to create a painting of all his pets. After the pet painting, I did a few more paintings of dogs for friends. The work was well received and in 2018 I made a brochure for High Dog Art and began painting dog paintings for anyone. There were also commissions for cats, horses, people, and even a sloth. Read more>>
Tammi Krones
After 27 years as a high school business teacher, I decided it was time to practice what I preached and turn my passion into a profession. Risk-taking was never my strong suit, but I wanted to create something special for my community. That dream became Tammi Sue’s Upcycle Mercantile—a gathering place filled with charm, creativity, and treasures from over 35 local makers. Read more>>
Justin Cook
I actually started my career as an electrician if you can believe that. Honestly, I wanted to change my legacy and I knew I wanted to help people. I started researching careers in the medical field and landed on Chiropractic. Read more>>
Karen Mensch
My Husband and I moved to Holden after He retired in 2020. We love this little town so very much. We loved the town and the people so much that my Husband decided to run for the City Council and was elected. He has been on the City Council now for four years and Loves it. Read more>>
Miles McMahon
Theatre of the Imagination is happy to be celebrating our 25th anniversary! We started as an after school drama program at an elementary school in Brookside. Hoping to get 5-10 kids, we were surprised when 28 showed up! We split into equal sized groups on different days, so everyone could get a lot of attention. Read more>>
BEWELL-LU Ojinnaka
I was about 10 or 11 years old, I remember being a bleeding heart—constantly trying to figure out how to save the world from misery. I wanted to give my allowance to the homeless and make little deals with the universe, offering to take on the pains of the world myself. Read more>>
Shantai McCray
My career started as a Drug Court Case manager 25 yrs ago. It was in that role, I was introduced to dual-diagnosis and the need for therapy. Unfortunately, it wasn’t something I had exposure to due to the stigma around mental health in my community. Read more>>
Nicole FitzGerald
I opened my small business, Zucchero Studios, in August 2023 after moving from Jacksonville, Florida to Kansas. I had been practicing sugaring since 2018 and knew I wanted to bring this natural, skin-friendly method of hair removal to a thriving community. Read more>>
Colby Campbell
I’m Colby Campbell, a St. Joseph native with a passion for building community and opportunity. My journey started with a B.S. in Recreation & Business Administration from Missouri Western State University, followed by over a decade in insurance, real estate, and leadership roles. Read more>>
DeVonte Brown
My career began in 2014 as I was graduating college with a degree in Film and Video Production. I started out as a Production Assistant on local commercials, eager to get my name out in Kansas City. Read more>>
Tera Mueller
We began our labradoodle breeding journey in 2005 after consulting with our veterinarian about the temperaments and common health concerns in the doodle breeds. Read more>>
Summer Righter-Askin
Well, I would love if my story started with “I woke up one day and decided to start Furry Paws Poo Crew”. How amazing if it were that simple, right? Like most small business owners, there’s typically some kind of path that led you to where you are right now, in this moment. Read more>>
Michael Schiferl
My journey as a therapist began when I was a freshman at Kansas State University. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to study, but I was quickly drawn to my psychology and human development classes. I found myself wanting to use what I was learning to help people, and therapy soon became a clear career path. Read more>>
Bob Bond
I began my artistic career as far back as elementary school in Venice, California, where he illustrated and sold coloring books to fellow students in the 5th grade. Throughout secondary and high school he designed covers for graduating class programs, and went on to attend junior college where he majored in art. Read more>>
Katie Griffith
I guess it really all goes back to when I was a kid. A lot of leatherwork is drawing. Drawing is the foundation to most designs. I hand draw all of my projects. Each one is totally unique. Drawing was what I did as a kid in between my other hobbies of playing sports and showing horses. Read more>>
Cheryl Rucker
After years of planning and scouting out spaces; my business opened October 9, 2022. We just celebrated our 3rd year Anniversary. I started my business because I love to see people enjoying themselves and having a good time. ‘It’s Always a Good time to Celebrate’. We are an all occasion event venue that can accommodate up to 100 people. Read more>>
Zaria Akins
I’ve always been a creative and from what I remember crocheting was one of the first mediums that I played around with. My mom taught me how to make things like blankets and scarves but from there I decided to expand into clothing items and other accessories. Read more>>
Ciara Salinas
I began my career in the music and entertainment industry in my early 20s, planning and promoting live music events across Kansas City. I gained hands-on experience working with local radio stations 96.5 The Buzz and 98.9 The Rock, where I helped produce concerts and community events that connected artists with fans. Read more>>
Darryl Woods
I got started after wanting photos of my oldest son playing flag football, the photographer I hired didn’t know how to do action games images he was just posing him Heisman, throwing poses etc.. At the time I worked for Kawasaki motors corporation and asked one of the staff photogs how they got action images. Read more>>
Amanda Walters
I’ve always had a passion for photography, but my true journey began in December 2020 — completely unplanned, in the most beautiful way. My sister agreed to let me photograph her for a boudoir session. I didn’t even have a studio then, so we set up right in her bedroom with what we had. Read more>>
Brittney Mueller
I worked in the corporate world for just shy of 8 years. I thought the corporate life was the only post-college path for me so I took it, not knowing there was something better out there for me. Read more>>
Nx Blame
My journey as a musical artist began back in high school, sparked by the encouragement of an English teacher who saw something in my writing. That spark turned into a passion the moment I went home and started writing my first lyrics. Around the same time, my little cousin began exploring music too, and together we filled up countless notebooks with our ideas. Read more>>
Brendan Whisenant
This is a loaded question for sure! I can tell you that I have had to hustle from a young age, forced to maybe have to grow up quicker than most, often working multiple jobs at a time. Read more>>
Ryainna Lopez
My name is Ryainna Lopez, I’m 13 years old and currently based in Arkansas! I had always wanted to be on a movie/tv show when I was younger, but I was suppeerrrr shy! So, I hadn’t taken action. But, when ‘Five nights at Freddy’s’ released back in 2023, it gave me motivation to begin my career. Read more>>
Henry Specht
I’ve always had a love for building things and figuring out how they work. Even as a kid, I was the one taking things apart just to see how they went back together. That curiosity, combined with a pretty strong entrepreneurial streak, is really what set me on this path. Read more>>
Meagan Garrett
I graduated from KU with a degree in graphic design in December of ’19. I had an internship at a corporate office until the pandemic hit and I was let go. I spent the next year and half working small freelance jobs until finding my place at another corporate agency. Read more>>
Taylor Ford
I have been intrigued by photography since middle school. I have always recognized and appreciated beautifully taken photos. Once in high school, my parents bought me a camera. I enrolled in photography classes and art classes to perfect my ability to compose aesthetic images. I love both scenery and portrait photography. Portraits because it encapsulates a moment of time for someone to remember forever. Read more>>
Phoenix Storm
I started writing as a kid, always tucking away in corners to write out the various stories in my head. It was an escape for me. My happy place. Read more>>
Shay Carriger
Howdy! My name is Ms. Shay, and I was a little girl who dreamed of horses! I moved many times, from Missouri to Pennsylvania, to Montana, and then back to Missouri. With a lot of grit , grace, heart and hustle, my small family of 5 built our Equine Facility, C Bar C Farms, one day at a time and one horse at a time. We committed our home and efforts to serving God & others. Read more>>
James Hargrave
Later, I took on the role of Director of Financial Planning at a newly founded firm. There, I helped shape the business from the ground up, leading day-to-day operations and working directly with 74 families on their financial planning needs. Over six years, I learned countless lessons in leadership, business, and life that I now carry into this next chapter. Read more>>
