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.
Kari Littleton
Starting Kari Lea & Company LLC was honestly a complete career change for me. Before this, I worked in corrections and social services. While those fields are incredibly important, I knew I wanted to pursue something completely different creatively and mentally. In August 2022, I started Kari Lea & Company LLC as a way to build something positive, creative, and meaningful. Read more>>
Sarah Knopf-Amelung
My career and values have always been motivated by my passion for social justice. I first got this spark in high school when I began volunteering for a presidential campaign and started thinking more deeply about public policy and social issues. That carried into college and graduate school where I studied Urban Affairs and Sociology. Read more>>
Sara Swenson
I was looking for a new guitar years ago at Bentley Guitar in Parkville, and the gentleman selling them asked if I could sing. I shrugged, “I guess?” I played him the song “Landslide”, and his response was that I should play a local songwriter’s night. When I told him I hadn’t written any songs, he suggested I go do that, so I did! Read more>>
Annie Allen
I spent most of my life being the person women came to when their lives or relationships were falling apart. Even before I had the title or credentials, I was being called on when people needed help thinking clearly in crisis, navigating hard conversations, or figuring out what to do next. Read more>>
Wendy Hoerl
My journey began with my own personal struggle. Within 18 months, I got married, moved, changed careers, and had my first baby. What I now know, and what therapists recognize, is that this kind of rapid, compounding change can have catastrophic effects on mental health and well-being. For me, it was simply too much. Read more>>
Melissa Chevalier
I am an US Army Veteran, entrepreneur, multi-business owner, Inn Keeper, self- taught chef, Chaplain of the Malta Bend Legion, Military Affairs Committee member, Creator and Director of the Central Missouri Loop, and a board member of the Saline Co Convention & Visitor’s Bureau. About 10 years ago I had opened an inn on my farm at Malta Bend. Read more>>
Melissa Graham
My partner, Chelsea Belland, and I have been writing together for 17 years and published our first co-authored Urban Fantasy novel, Dance with the Devil, in 2024 under the name Madison Chase. Read more>>
