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.
Haley Fannin
From backyard garden activities with our mom, to our roles in out-of-state family weddings where we earned our nick-name “The Ohio Flower Girls”, to our own weddings, flowers have long been a part of meaningful experiences in our lives. And since Hannah began selling flowers roadside in 2016, flowers have taken on even more significance in our lives as our small farmer-florist business has evolved. Read more>>
Yash Kishinchand
I grew up surrounded by food. My mom was always cooking, and the Food Network was constantly on in the background, so it felt like fate that I would become a chef. Read more>>
Michael Stapleton
I got into the electrical trade through vocational school, influenced by my grandfather who was an electrician and by my family encouraging me to pursue a skilled trade. I continued my training at NCST, completed a non-union apprenticeship with Arrow Electric, and later finished my apprenticeship with IBEW Local 613 in Georgia, where I turned out as a Journeyman Wireman. Read more>>
Wisdom Clark
I’m the founder of 22 Visions Media, a Cleveland-based creative platform built from the ground up to document real people and real culture—creating opportunity instead of chasing trends. Read more>>
Lysa Stanton
I have been the President of the Westlake Historical Society for the past 16 years. It has been my honor to share the rich history of Westlake. Read more>>
Cindy Smith
The Frame Shop was started in 1975 by Jack and Kay McLaughlin. We are a family, full service Customer Picture Framing Shop. We have been in business for just over 50 years. I am the second generation owner, along with my Husband Steve. Read more>>
Vance Sharp
My Journey at Oakland Grocery I began my journey at Oakland Grocery in 2017 at the age of 17, when the business was still owned by my cousin. From the start, I envisioned owning the business one day, though it felt like a distant dream. Read more>>
Laura Moreo
I always knew at a very young age I wanted to be a hairstylist. I graduated from Vantage Career Center in 2003 as a licensed cosmetologist. I had a great mentor that I began working with in the small town of Continental. I loved my career. I was accepted into Paul Mitchell Education to become an educator in 2011. Read more>>
Greg Bartholomew
I collected comics books since 1974. I always wanted to sell them as an adult but my parents still made me get a college education so I got a Education Degree for Upper level math. I substitute taught for almost 4 years and decided to give a try into small business. Read more>>
Rowe Sports Complex
We have been in the sporting goods business since 1996, we built the Rowe Sports Complex at 6480 Trenton Franklin Road, Middletown, Ohio is 2011. We will hold our 250th Fastpitch/ Baseball Tournament sometime in April of 2026. We are a family ran business that specializes in youth diamond sports, especially fastpitch softball. We also have indoor batting cages and a full line sporting goods. Read more>>
Katie Greenleaf
I’m a licensed professional counselor, and honestly, the moment that shaped my entire career was becoming a parent. When my son was born (he’s 16 now!), it became clear pretty quickly that a lot of the “traditional” parenting advice passed down through generations and recommended by ‘the experts’ just doesn’t work for a lot of kids. Read more>>
Tim Hofmann
In early 2023, Franklin Street Creative launched the Hilliard Beacon to fill the local news gap created when the local print newspaper ThisWeek Hilliard shut down. Since then we’ve published news for our neighbors covering local development, city and township government issues and Hilliard City School District happenings. Read more>>
Face Drexler II
My name is Face Drexler II. Im from the east side of Cleveland. I’ve been involved with music for as long as I can remember. Music is everything to me. It helps with my emotions, it makes me feel good, I’ve always appreciated hearing musicians showcase their musical talents and talk what’s surrounding them. Read more>>
Junita Cullum
Lapp It Up was born on a whim that I had one day after speaking with my aunt who informed me that she was selling her homemade candles at a weekend show. I was 21 years old and had been dreaming about owning a business for as long as I could remember. Read more>>
Jackie Meathe
Dr. Jackie is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and women’s health specialist dedicated to helping women feel strong, confident, and supported in their bodies throughout the perinatal journey. Read more>>
Nicole DeScenna
Here is what i have….. i can give more indepth details if you like so you have more incite if you like just let me know Ill send my images soon and maybe a little fact sheet about my life so you can do your thing!!! Thank you for this opportunity. I will send other emails shortly!!! Read more>>
Kathrine & Megan Fitzgerald
My journey in the hair industry began with a simple love for creativity and connection. What started as an interest in hair quickly became a calling, one that blended artistry, intuition, and human connection in a way nothing else ever had. From the very beginning, I was drawn not just to transforming hair, but to the way those transformations made people feel. Read more>>
Julian Sorrells
Around the age of 10 I was heavily influenced by visual arts, cinema and animation. As I got older, with those passions still intact. It became clear to me that I had a true interest in photography. I also was able to see the art of photography being done by my father that at the time would do family portraits. Read more>>
Josh Stone
I’ve been building things my whole career — first with my hands, then with code. I started in construction, running my own company for years. I loved the work, but I got tired of the employee headaches and the low bar in that industry. What I didn’t get tired of was solving problems for business owners. Read more>>
Stephanie Dusing
My love of astrology started early in my life. Ever since I was little I was so excited to open the newspaper and read my horoscope. Then later as a teen I got to read my horoscope in my Seventeen magazine. I would ask everyone when their birthday was and I cataloged my friends by their zodiac signs. Read more>>
Kelly Foster
I was in the food industry for 30 years. Same Company. After 30 years of the same industry, I needed a change, but I worked for a great Company. Didn’t want to start over with an unfamiliar company. At that point I knew I wanted to do my own thing. Having a lifetime of experience shooting and hunting. Read more>>
Joey Kostenbader
“We Got Your Six”: My Story — Joey Kostenbader I don’t just see Patriot Veteran Auto as a business — I see it as a mission. Everything I’ve built comes from a simple belief: take care of people, show up when it matters, and stand behind your work no matter what. My path into entrepreneurship wasn’t perfect or predictable. Read more>>
The Rausch Family
Randy was raised on a dairy farm and has spent his life in agriculture. In 1990, we purchased the family farm and dairy herd from his parents and continued operating the dairy. Over time, however, we recognized the need to diversify in order to create additional, sustainable revenue for the farm. Read more>>
Ariel Tincher
My family has run a small business since 1970. My father and Grandfather started out as a corner grocery store. They got their first pawn license in the early 1980s and that slowly built to be their main business. By the early 1990s they were only a pawnshop. The corner grocery store business model was no longer viable. Read more>>
Chuck Miller
My business began in 2006 in the Lancaster Ohio area. I was close to retirement with close to 30 years as an educator in the city schools system. My area of expertise was agriculture including horticulture and livestock care. Read more>>
DAVID HADAM
When covid happened there wasn’t a whole lot of activities to do, but you could golf to maintain those 6 ft distances. So much like myself a lot of people started to golf and become ever so addicted LOL. So as I am golfing a lot more, I needed to buy new golf gear. Read more>>
Gery Deer
I was raised on a small cattle farm in rural southwestern Ohio, where my parents also ran an agricultural trucking business and farm stand. We never had much, and mother, father, and older brother worked hard to keep our family going, and to help me to grow and achieve as well. Read more>>
Terron Lee
Ever since a young kid I’ve always been attracted to the arts and creativity especially with music. Read more>>
Maura Del Rosario
At just 8 years old, my mom died. I say this swiftly, almost casually, and often, because it’s part of my story. But behind those few words, lives a vast emptiness. A deep, nothingness that echoes farther than I could ever describe or a mind can imagine. Read more>>
Shelly Bornstein
Hope United – Tyler’s Redemption Place began 10 years ago as a non-profit organization, after the loss of my husband, Travis’s and I’s son, Tyler. Tyler had struggled for over 6 years with an opiate addiction and at the age of 23 passed away of a Heroin/Fentanyl overdose. Ty was a smart, compassionate, athletic, beautiful young man. Read more>>
Nat Comisar
I was in the restaurant business with my family for 33 years. The Star among the many restaurants we owned and operated was Maisonette: the most honored and decorated restaurant in the history of North America. When I closed them all in 2005, I was approached by real estate brokers to use my contact capital in real estate. Read more>>https://voyageohio.com/interview/life-work-with-nat-comisar-of-kenwood
Izzy Smith
My story begins with losing someone I love to suicide. That kind of loss changed everything, how I understood grief, how I moved through the world, and how alone I felt at first. I was just trying to survive and make sense of what life looked like after that. Finding LOSS Community Services was a turning point for me. Read more>>
Kathryn Tschiegg
I never set out to start an organization—but I did set out with a plan. My journey began more than 45 years ago in Honduras during my Peace Corps service as a nurse. There, I witnessed extraordinary resilience alongside overwhelming need. Read more>>
Ricardo Sandoval
I bought the building/restaurant in 1997 with the idea of opening a restaurant in the Tremont neighborhood that was home to many galleries and studios..an artist haven … we opened with a small menu with few customers. My partner Tim and I wanted a restaurant/bar that was available to everybody. Read more>>
Orie Rush
My brother, Michael, was an early adopter of the Onewheel which first exploded in California around 2015. He would bring it to Ohio when he would visit, and one visit we had the question ‘can this thing jump?’. Read more>>
Kimberly Reynolds
We create our own graphic art here in house so we can take an idea from a concept to a completed design. From there it is just a matter of what our customer would like to put it on and how we will make that happen. The majority of our item decoration happens in house so our staff/makers must be creative, have the necessary computer skills, but also must have the technical ability to operate the machines used as well, and to top that off, have good customer relations too. This is quite an ask but our makers have stepped up to the task. Read more>>
eliza evans
I have always had an appreciation for art and have found various ways throughout my life to express artistic skill, but nothing ever felt like it really clicked, or was any good. I don’t believe I have an artist’s hand where I can sketch, paint, or form beautiful things. I do believe, however, that I have an artist’s mind, and that is why I am so grateful for the beauty of nature; I’m able to to tag team with what is already so lovely to create compositions that I am proud of. Read more>>
