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.
Melissa Bogo
What started as a casual “come take a free class” conversation turned into me leaping headfirst into a 500-hour Pilates certification. Something about the method called me home. The precision. The depth. The way it asked you to slow down, tune in, and move with intention. I applied everything I was learning to my Spin Classes, to my HIIT Classes, and I spoke about this practice to anyone that would listen. Read more>>
Riley Hundt
While everyday feels as though we’re just starting, the true beginning of GoodYard is found in my childhood- in the sweaty afternoons of my parents backyard. As a young rascal I was constantly redeeming my bad behavior through yardwork. Read more>>
Brian Rockwell
I purchased the Crazy Fox Saloon/Historic Weaver Hotel from Larry Williams in 2017 all while I work my full time job with Crawford County Solid Waste Management District as the Executive Director. Read more>>
Ashley Ward
I started photographing my kids, beginning with my firstborn son. I wanted to capture every fleeting moment, and once I realized how powerful photographs could be, I was hooked. Looking back, it makes sense. I was always the one with a camera, even growing up, quietly documenting life and preserving memories for everyone around me. Read more>>
November Palmer
High stress. A constant go, go, go. Worth being measured by productivity and the pressure to raise the bar after every achievement. These patterns are deeply woven into modern life and they were deeply woven into mine. As a licensed social worker, I was supporting others through trauma, stress, and burnout while also navigating my own lived experience. Read more>>
Kaelah Payne
Hi, I’m Kaelah Payne. I’m a 31-year-old mom of two and the wife of my incredibly supportive husband of six years. Nursing has always felt like a calling for me. I graduated from Wright State University and began my career in emergency medicine, where I spent five fast-paced, formative years working in a local emergency department. Read more>>
Jane Back
We began as a group of volunteers in Sharon Township with a love of the arts and a mindset of community service. Our volunteers are made up of business owners, teachers, engineers, care-givers, and parents, retired professionals, and students. We began by hosting some music events in the small town of Sharon and doing outreach with local organizations that needed help. Read more>>
Siera Airgood
I went to Brown Aveda cosmetology school starting in 2013. I completed the 1800 hour advance cosmetology program. I obtained my advanced cosmetology license and my independent contractors license in 2014. I started my career at Lady Jane’s Hair Cuts for men. I advanced quickly and got promoted to manager. After two years cutting only men’s hair, I needed a change. Read more>>
Jenn Shreve
I have always been interested in Photography even as a young child and teenager. My aunt gave me my first 35mm film camera and I became immediately intrigued by the ability to freeze time. I took pictures for high school yearbook, on family vacations or when I wanted to try to learn a new aspect of photography. Read more>>
Michelle Pinsky
Photography has been part of my story for as long as I can remember. Even as a kid, I was drawn to images and the idea of capturing a moment. But it didn’t really click into place until I was about 13, when I got my first Nikon for my birthday. Read more>>
Zacharias Wray
My career path has taken an interesting and somewhat unconventional trajectory. Exiting high school, I had developed a significant level of competency in music (piano in particular, but vocals as well) while also maintaining a wide range of interests that made it difficult to imagine a single, linear career path. Read more>>
Micki Lamb
I am the owner and artist of Snark & Soul through which I sell handmade, upcycled art and wearables. I began my work life as an artist, then switched to mental health therapy with children and adolescents. During the pandemic, my home office was also my art and craft room, which reignited my identity as an artist. Read more>>
Megan Patrick
I began my journey in esthetics driven by a love for beauty and helping others feel confident. What started as a passion quickly grew into a vision for creating a space that blends artistry, intention, and connection. Through continued education, hands-on experience, and dedication, I’ve built a business that reflects both my craft and my values — and I’m excited to keep growing from here. Read more>>
Crawford County Art Center
The Crawford County Art Center (CCAC) prides itself on being an open and inclusive gathering place for artists and community members needing friendship, support and inspiration. At the beginning of 2025, we moved to a new location in uptown Bucyrus at 117 N. Sandusky Avenue. We are happy to be closer to the center of town and more accessible to residents in Crawford County. Read more>>
Morgan Mecaskey
I started making music when I was very young (Suzuki piano lessons at age 3). I’ve always been transfixed by music and sounds of any kind. Soon after starting lessons I was composing, songwriting, noodling – creating melody and harmony when and wherever I could. At age 10 I started guitar lessons. Read more>>
Mandy Coy
I am a professional photographer and live wedding painter who has built a career around capturing life’s most meaningful moments through both art and imagery. By combining photography and live painting, I get to offer a truly unique experience that blends storytelling, creativity, and emotion, allowing my clients to preserve their memories in unforgettable ways. Read more>>
Margo Canady-Johnson
I always say I didn’t choose event planning; it chose me! It started when I was selected to work for a youth conference for 40,000 people in Atlanta. At sixteen, I thought I’d be grabbing coffee for the pros, but instead, I was given $150k and told to make the magic happen. Read more>>
Abby Smith
I got into real estate because I noticed how much the process impacts people beyond the paperwork — it’s tied to security, family, and big life transitions. I started by leaning into what I’m naturally wired for: being organized, staying calm under pressure, and making complicated things feel simple and doable. Read more>>
Michelle Brinkley
I started practicing yoga in 2008, after receiving a beginners yoga set from my sisters for Christmas. I was a young mom with two small children, and their note said: ‘You are a great mom and wife, but you have lost Michelle. Perhaps you’ll find her among these bendy people.’ I unrolled my mat and I began to heal. Read more>>
Amy Luczak
My personal journey with yoga began in 2010 when I found myself searching for something, although I wasn’t sure what it was at the time. I began taking studio classes and I was instantly hooked! Working as a kindergarten teacher at the time, one of my immediate first thoughts was, ‘I wish I had learned yoga as a kid! Read more>>
Jessica aka Jess René
A story filled with learning moments, creative outlets and exploring through travels. Being a creative person has kept me going and figuring out late in the game that carrying around my camera would one day turn into my professional career was not part of my high school or college career days. Read more>>
Fatima Khan
Ten years ago, while planning my own traditional Indian Muslim wedding, I ran into an unexpected challenge. Our wedding events were split between Chicago, where I grew up, and Ohio, where my husband’s family lives. We struggled to find a makeup artist with true experience in South Asian weddings in Ohio. Read more>>
Tom Emerine
Artist Tom Emerine is the creative force behind Raspberry Woods Art Studio and Gallery. He is a painter, ceramic artist and landscape and wildlife photographer. His huge two-story state of the art studio and gallery may be one of the largest in Ohio and is located across the driveway from his residence in a rural setting, outside of Middle Point, Ohio. Read more>>
Emily Lacy
Aligning Intimacy grew out of both my clinical work and my lived experience. I began my career specializing in trauma, particularly sexual trauma, and quickly noticed a pattern in which many of my clients were doing everything “right” in therapy and still felt disconnected from their bodies, their desire, or their relationships. Traditional trauma work was helping, but it wasn’t touching everything that needed care. Read more>>
Tetyana Hubska
My artistic journey didn’t start in a quiet studio; it actually began in the middle of a loud, crowded dive bar. While everyone around me was focused on a game, I found myself mesmerized by a man on a screen – I didn’t even know his name was Bob Ross at the time. Read more>>
Carole Klingler
To me, LIFE is a calling and a mission. It grew out of both my professional experience as a registered nurse and Certified Dementia Practitioner, and a deep conviction that people living with dementia—and those who care for them—deserve more than fragmented services or crisis-driven support. Read more>>
Rosie Santiago
I’ve always been a wordsmith ever since kindergarten doing poetry and entering poetry slams! At 14 I performed at the Cleveland agora then after that I took a little break to focus on school. I returned to music in 2021 and I’ve been making waves ever since! Read more>>
Manny Pemberton
Manny Pemberton was born in Queens, New York, but his story truly began in Cincinnati, Ohio — where music became a calling rather than a curiosity. From an early age, he wasn’t just listening to records; coming from a family of entertainers, he was studying movement, emotion, and how a performance could make people feel something. Read more>>
Devonte Perdue
It began with a field trip my sophomore year to the career center. During that field trip, I learned about many different careers, but one stood out the most. After the field trip, I rolled into the Hvac program. I attended Fairfield career center for both my junior and senior year in the Hvac program. Read more>>
Courtney Treglia
I started blogging and posting about local things to do in Columbus around 2019. I started meeting some other girlfriends through Columbus Girl Boss events. Through @courtneyyelizabeth13 on IG, I explore Columbus and anywhere! I have cherished and met awesome friendships ever since! Currently, I love hosting girls weekends in Hocking Hills or other cabins around the state of Ohio. Read more>>
Allyson Nichols
The year was 2024 and I was out at dinner with one of my close friends, Isabel Brinegar. One of the biggest things Isabel and I have in common, aside from being Kent State University alumni, is that we are both writers. Her passion is in fiction and mine is poetry. Naturally, our writing made its way into our conversation. Read more>>
Katie Cole
I started my career back in 2011 photographing weddings, along with families and friends. What began as a side hustle slowly grew as I continued to fall in love with documenting real moments and meaningful milestones. Weddings, in particular, became the heart of my work, capturing not just the day itself, but the emotion, connection, and stories behind it. Read more>>
Jeanné Ross
My journey into boxing didn’t start with owning a boxing program at a gym- or even with the goal of becoming a trainer. It started as a member at Title Boxing in Loveland, where I discovered boxing during a season of personal growth and challenge. Read more>>
Rodger Roeser
Growing up as a child in a fairly rural part of Erie County, my grandparents had a small, working farm. They had the standard things like horses, cows, chickens and for crops, generally raised soybeans, corn and hay. But, my grandmother, Lois, had a small patch of elderberries that she took care of and harvested them each fall for several years. Read more>>
Emma Couch
As a little girl, I always had a camera in my hand. At the time, I never knew photography could be a career. When I was in high school, I always brought my camera to football games. My friends would always say, “You need to be a photographer.” Once I got to college, I started taking my photography seriously. Read more>>
Hali Hart
I didn’t plan on starting a business. I was just looking for an algae eater for my crayfish, and that led me to learning about snails. The more I learned, the more I realized how misunderstood they are and how often they’re not cared for properly. I started setting up tanks at home and spending a lot of time researching. Read more>>
Brandee Valentine
I came out of the property management industry. I loved my job there and planned to retire with Central Management Company. However, the business owners got sick and sold all of their Ohio properties. Read more>>
Amy Rader
My journey into medical aesthetics started from both a professional foundation and a very personal experience. I’m a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with a background in cardiovascular nursing, business management, and advanced medical training, but my path into aesthetics truly became clear after becoming a mom. Read more>>
Taylor Johnson
As a teenager I struggled with physical and mental health challenges, which led me to my own wellness journey. I didn’t want to take medication or end up going on the path of endless pills and procedures that I watched my grandmother and others in my life take. Read more>>
Rose Merritt
I constantly watched webinars and researched different techniques or tutorials on how to create certain images. Then I would practice day in and day out until I got it. After some time, I had the opportunity to photograph my first wedding. I absolutely loved being able to capture such a beautiful moment in a couples lives and continued to do weddings. I focused on how to create genuine, fun, romantic moments on a wedding day and I continue to do so. Read more>>
Kaila Savarese
Photography has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. There are photos of me as a little girl photographing my own toes. Read more>>
