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.
Samantha Barth
I didn’t grow up dreaming of owning a travel business – I grew up being the person people naturally leaned on. Service has always been part of my life. I was eager to help my mom serve tables at the restaurant where she waitressed… starting around the age of five. Looking back, that instinct to help and pay attention to people never really left. Read more>>
Tammy Evans
My journey really began with a simple suggestion from my husband Charles.He encouraged me to sign up on a dog-sitting platform, and at the time I didn’t see it as anything more than a way to help people and earn a little extra income doing something I loved. Read more>>
Osly Galobardi
When I graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in May 2020 with my master’s in Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling, I was ready to work as a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and change people’s lives. I didn’t know I was eventually going to become an entrepreneur. My master’s program did not include a billing course, marketing course, accounting course, or a business management course. Read more>>
Thomas Watt
I graduated from chiropractic school in 2020, with a passion to serve people. I’ve always known I wanted to serve people and improve their overall quality of life, and chiropractic is the avenue in which I decided to do that. Once I opened the I have always had a passion for serving people. Often in high school this manifested as missions trips. Read more>>
Faith Patterson
My name is Faith Patterson and I specialize in longarm quilting services. I work with a brand new APQS Millie longarm on a 12 foot frame with stitches controlled by IntelliQuilter computer software. My background is in art and design. Read more>>
Melissa Burton
After graduating from Appalachian State University (go neers!), I fully expected to step directly into my “dream job” in advertising. When that didn’t happen, I decided to return to the coast and lean into an industry I knew well: restaurants and hospitality. Having spent my high school years working in restaurants in Southport, I felt comfortable in fast-paced, guest-focused environments. Read more>>
Tae Park
’ve always loved art and photography, but I definitely got into it as a newly discovered passion during quarantine. I spent lots of time on YouTube, watching videos of many inspiring YouTubers like Casey Neistat, Sam Kolder, and Peter McKinnon. I learned a lot of the photography and filmmaking basics on YouTube through watching these creators (YouTube University woo-hoo). Read more>>
Summer Merritt
I was an optician for sixteen years, working in the field before, during, and after graduate school, where I earned my MFA in Sculpture. During the pandemic, I left opticianry to partner with my husband designing and building home goods and furniture. On Christmas morning in 2020, I went into the studio to make something just for myself—something I rarely did. Read more>>
Daniel Spraggs
My story has been shaped less by stability and more by adaptation. I grew up moving often, attending more than a dozen schools, and learning early how to read rooms, adjust quickly, and take care of myself. The one place that always felt like home was my grandparents’ house in South Florida — full of family, conversation, and togetherness. Read more>>
Delon Fletcher
I didn’t start out chasing a title. I started out chasing a problem. I kept seeing the same pattern in our community and in our schools: brilliant kids with real potential getting buried under real-life pressure. Read more>>
Raenelle Gooden
I began my journey during a season of unexpected transition. After losing my job in October 2024, I was forced to slow down, reassess, and trust God for direction during a difficult job market. What began as a practical way to supplement my household income, creating custom T-shirts on the side, quickly revealed itself as something much deeper. Stepping into unfamiliar territory required faith. Read more>>
April Butler
My journey has been shaped by purpose, resilience, and legacy. I didn’t start out with a single plan, I started with a calling to serve, create, and lead in spaces that truly impact families and communities. I began my professional path working in early childhood education and nonprofit programs, where I spent more than a decade supporting children, parents, and underserved communities. Read more>>
Denise Cline
I’m a lawyer by trade, but I’ve always loved writing. Throughout my life and in stolen moments from my day job, I’ve written essays, short stories, and a first novel that still hasn’t seen the light of day. Read more>>
DJ Renaldo Creative
I am a Hip-Hop music DJ, journalist, producer, and host. I am also the program director at Inspir3 Radio. You can hear me on California’s Rhythm 105.9 FM, North Carolina’s Inspir3 Radio, Fleet DJS (Fleet Radio Network), 99.9 The Beat, Hits 1 UK, Fleet DJS MixShow Radio, and Fleet Caribbean Vibes Radio, or other stations. Read more>>
charles Zwerling
Many years ago in 1987, I saw a movie called ‘Dirty Dancing’ starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. I was fascinated by the dance scenes and decided to take some social ballroom dance lessons with Arthur Murray in Raleigh, North Carolina. I was fascinated by the art and science of partnership dancing and soon began to expand my interest into competing in the pro-am divison. Read more>>
Gina Smith
At a very young age, I have always wanted to have my own business. I grew up on a farm where I worked in my family’s vegetable market during the summer. I remember my first business ‘Gina’s Mini Mart’. My parents would give me vegetables that I would sell on a picnic table outside their market. Read more>>
Aubrey Pickard
Birth and babies has been a main interest of mine since being a little girl. I would watch birth stories on tv and grew up babysitting siblings, cousins, and friends’ children. Read more>>
Sonia Martin
For more than 27 years, education was the driving force in my life, a calling that shaped not only my career but who I am at my core. From a young age, learning didn’t come easily. I was consciously aware of my challenges as a student, and those early struggles became the foundation of my commitment to ensuring children learned to their highest potential. Read more>>
Emily Anderson
The idea of helping moms navigate the early postpartum period began in 2016, when my daughter was two years old. At the time, many of my friends were having their second babies, and I felt a growing pull to support them during this especially vulnerable time. Read more>>
Anna Zarlinga
Hellbent began as my Design BFA Senior Thesis in college – a brand imagined, designed, and built entirely from the ground up. From packaging to photography to marketing, it was a complete world I couldn’t let go of. Post-grad, I still deeply believed in it. Hellbent means recklessly determined, a word and an energy I felt was missing from the fashion and retail space. Read more>>
Geraldine Brisbane Crooks
In 2002, I established a international student/teacher exchange program with five adopted sister schools in South Africa. We also deliver school, medical and food supplies during our annual study tours. Hosting the learners and educators from Johannesburg and Cape Town also helped expand young minds and inspire them to achieve their greatest desires. Our Brisbane Academy scholars receive the same benefit as they build life long relationships and memories during their travel experiences in Africa. Read more>>
Tammy Cobb Kim Williard
Alamance Arts is a non-profit organization that is on the cusp of our 70th Anniversary, as we began in 1956. Starting with Burlington Writers Club as the foundation, multiple Affiliate groups were formed and the Arts Council of Alamance was created. Over the years, children’s theatre, jazz, artisans, photography, singers and others have utilized the Arts Council as a means for engaging with the community. Read more>>
