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.
Deb Calvert
I grew up in Grandview and later worked for 16 years at The Kansas City Star. I took a promotion to The Star’s corporate parent company, Knight Ridder. I relocated to San Jose for a corporate HR Director Role, resettled my family and was barely acclimated to California when the company was sold — less than 3 years after we’d moved. We decided to stay instead of relocating again. I opened my own business, People First Productivity Solutions, to continue working with HR, sales and leadership teams. Read more>>
Allison & Sarah Barkley & Mackin
Quality has always mattered to us, which means we’ve pulled multiple pieces that didn’t meet our standards and fixed mistakes we never saw coming. One of our very first problems was a tiny typo on a design that ended up requiring someone to re-embroider shirts that were missing an apostrophe. We laugh about it now, but at the time it felt like a disaster. Read more>>
Marbhely Gonzalez
Hi, I’m Marbhely, cofounder of Bonita Café & Co. Our story started with a simple question: What kind of life would truly excite us every morning? For us—two sisters who love coffee, community, and creating beautiful experiences—the answer became clear fast. Read more>>
Jennifer Ruiz
With little knowledge about the opportunities available for young footballers in America, I often felt lost. But my love for the game kept me going. It was the compass that guided my path. I didn’t love anything as much as I loved this sport so I kept playing and playing to see where it would take me. I trusted the ball. Read more>>
Bob Hill
Beginning in 1985, I served Community Christian Church, first as Associate Minister and then, beginning in 1987, as Senior Minister until my pastoral retirement in June of 2015 and being named Minister Emeritus. From 2015 through 2022 I worked as a Community Consultant with the Kauffman Foundation, focusing on community engagement with public education. I was also a community consultant for other nonprofit organizations in the areas of access to quality health care and voter registration, voting, and citizenship engagement. Read more>>
shayron carr
I began my career in the healthcare industry as a Direct Care Worker in the mental health field in Mississippi. Through dedication and hands-on experience, I advanced into a supervisory role while completing my Bachelor of Science in Therapeutic Recreation. Upon graduation, I was promoted to Recreational Therapist, where I became an active member of the interdisciplinary team (IDT). Read more>>
Swain Scales
I went to a small blacksmithing school in Colorado. I started smithing because I had always been fascinated with the craft and needed something to do for myself while raising my daughter. My family and I moved to Warrensburg almost 8 years ago and I started smithing again as a hobby because I really missed. Read more>>
Noah Dumpert
After completing law school at Washburn Law, I began the job hunt while sitting for the Bar Exam. With student loans soon coming due, I took a job at Bryan, Lykins, Hejtmanek & Fincher, as sort of a bridge job doing plaintiff’s litigation until I could get my foot in the door in the government legal sector, which I had primarily geared my education towards. Read more>>
Melissa Freiburger
I grew up in a small town in rural Southwest Missouri. I was working at the local Pizza Hut after graduating high school and was fortunate enough to find a pathway to Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, MO. As a first-generation college student, I fell in love with school! Read more>>
Nick Cesare
We are owners and operators of a polyjacking concrete lifting and repair company. We are both fire fighters with the city of independence that have been on the same crew for the past three years. Todd has prior experience in concrete work prior to firefighting and brought the idea of buying/running the business from his friends who were selling at the time. Read more>>
Kelsie Kosko
I’ve always had an interest in art. When I was younger I was with my grandma a lot of the time. She would always tell me to find something to do or I could help with chores. Naturally, I chose to find something. Shed help me figure out how to draw things. Read more>>
Sarah Elizabeth
Storytelling became real to me at six years old. I was reading Beatrix Potter’s ‘The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle’ in a little rocking chair in our playroom. For the first time, the book came alive like a movie in my mind. It started an obsession with books. After a few years, the reading habit inspired me to write mysteries about my Webkinz stuffed animals. Read more>>
Wendy English
I was born and raised in a small town in Oklahoma. My upbringing wasn’t particularly glamorous, and while small-town life shaped me in many positive ways, it never truly fit who I was becoming. After community college and Oklahoma State University, I moved to Tulsa and spent several years working in consumer credit. Read more>>
Robbie and Jamie Ballard
My husband Robbie and I were living in Colorado when we started talking seriously about wanting land, livestock, and a lifestyle that was more grounded and purposeful. In 2018, we decided to move back to Kansas, which is where I’m originally from, and begin that journey. We started with chickens, then cattle, and eventually added sheep. Read more>>
Jeff McClaran
My journey really began when I was 19 years old on my first overseas mission trip to Hong Kong. That experience marked me in a way I couldn’t fully articulate at the time—it awakened a deep conviction that faith was meant to be lived out, not just believed. That trip also changed my life in a very personal way—I met my wife, Esther, there. Read more>>
Brett Shoffner
Ethan and I started in 2019 during a snowstorm and terrible winter weather we were trying to escape. We decided to form an LLC and take a job in California. Been really busy even since! Read more>>
Eudora Schools USD 491
Every Cardinal’s journey begins differently, but the spirit behind each story is remarkably similar. In Eudora, students don’t just pass through a school system – they become part of a legacy rooted in pride, community, and shared identity. And at the heart of that identity is the Eudora Cardinal. Read more>>
Mischelle Saunders-Gottsch
My redemptive faith-filled story is about what lead me to write my new healing memoir 30 day devotional, “The Story Within You” and establish my faith-based women’s storytelling Nonprofit, Altered Stories Ministry, and podcast, The Altered Stories Show. Read more>>
Ashlyn Wools
Clean Freak Cleaning Co was founded in our rental home spare bedroom in the year of 2020. I was working PRN at a local health clinic while raising our at the time two toddlers alongside my husband as a stay at home mom. Read more>>
Steve Baird
I felt the call of God on my life for ministry around the age of ten. I began to prepare myself for that by attending Bible College and Graduate School. I have been in ministry for over 30 years. I have been a Youth Pastor, Senior Pastor, Bible College Administrator, Bible teacher and author. Read more>>
Emmitt Rickey
I got started with country music at a very young age. My parents put an acoustic guitar in my hands as soon as I was old enough to hold one on my own. Read more>>
Cameron Carlson
I started BTS Collective Co in the summer of 2025 and what started as a dream and a passion for capturing people, their stories, and the little moments, has transformed into a full wedding and event content creation business serving people and couples in Kansas City and beyond. Read more>>
Kim Kirby
As a kid, I loved to draw and create anything I could think of and its still true today. My mom was the one who got me into painting. I used to paint ceramics with her and one day she suggested that I try painting a picture. Read more>>
JungleBaby Deem
I started off loving the rhythm and tunes of music; something about that ‘thump’ of it all. I used to close my eyes and imagine it was me coming up with the melodies and lyrics. At around 12 yrs old I started expressing emotions and storytelling on old instrumentals or even over my mom’s old Marvin Gaye tracks. Read more>>
Christian Dixon
I grew up in a Christian household, going to church every week and singing in the church band. I appreciated music as a means to tell meaningful stories and grapple with deeper themes of identity. Much of contemporary Christian music was focused on positivity and repetitive messaging, and it didn’t engage me on a very deep level. Read more>>
Carmela Randazzo-Stevenson
There are only a few lavender farms in the region. As far as I know, I am the only one that invites everyone to come out and pick your own lavender, have a picnic in the field, and shop our amazing line of lavender products in our shop. To the best of my knowledge, there isn’t another immersive video lounge anywhere in the US. Read more>>
MICHELLE WILLIAMS
Kevin is my why. His story is the reason I stand in my truth today and the reason I dedicate my work to making sure fewer families ever have to experience the same pain. What I’ve learned through all of this is that this epidemic grows in silence and shame. Too often, families feel judged instead of supported. People don’t talk about it until it’s too late. I wanted to change that — to replace judgment with knowledge, fear with resources, and stigma with action. Read more>>
