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.
Kristin Fay VENUS
I can walk into a room, a conversation, a person’s life, a business, or an organization and see what is needed. I can see where the structure is missing. I can see where someone is carrying too much. Read more>>
Kelsey Davis
Olivia and I actually started out at our husbands’ company picnic. We were sitting on a bench chatting about our mutual love for design and showing each other photos of our latest home projects. As the conversation turned toward interior design and home staging, the spark ignited—and the idea for Sage and Pine was born! Read more>>
Ashley Brothers
When I stepped onto the path of a healer and life coach in January 2004, my mission was simple and unwavering: to help people heal from the long-term effects of abuse, trauma, and neglect through energy medicine and spiritual healing. Read more>>
Craig McPherson
I started CNC Wood Cutters because I’ve always enjoyed building things and solving problems. What began as a passion for woodworking and creating unique projects quickly turned into an opportunity to help local businesses, nonprofits, and community organizations stand out. Read more>>
Rebekah Freels
I have always had an adventurous, friendly, and creative spirit, but owning and running a little rural country store was never on my list of things I may want to do when I grow up. Read more>>
Oi Ying Valerie Ho
I grew up in Hong Kong and first discovered jewelry while pursuing my BA in Visual Arts. At the time, I was exploring different artistic disciplines, but jewelry immediately stood out to me. I was fascinated by its unique ability to bring together craftsmanship, material exploration, and conceptual thinking within an intimate scale. Read more>>
Rennie Morrell
I took a winding path to where I am today, but the common thread has always been service, problem-solving, and community. I served 22 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a Lieutenant Commander in 1995. I enlisted at age 18 looking for opportunity and I found it. Read more>>
Kara Kazemba
After working for years in community mental health and working my way up into management I had the thought that crosses most entrepreneur’s minds: ‘What if I could do this better?’ What if I could provide a better experience for both the clients and the employees? Read more>>
Tegan Thomas
I opened a traditional dance studio in 2011. After seeing the impacts of COVID and the increasing cost of living, many of my clients and the community as a whole were struggling. People are working multiple jobs and cannot always find the time or additional income to bring their kids to multiple expensive traditional dance classes every week. Read more>>
Sharon Sinclair
When people ask how I came to do this work, I usually smile because the answer didn’t begin with house clearings. It began with a little girl searching for home. I was born into a military family, where moving was simply part of life. Before I was old enough to understand why, I was sent to live with my grandparents in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Read more>>
Robert and Trisha De Los Santos
Hailing from the Caribbean island of the Dominican Republic eight years ago, Robert has been on the hunt for flavors that remind him of su casa with a desire to bring a little slice of his homeland to everyone who craves something flavorful and new. His grandmother’s recipes are sure to appease your soul. Read more>>
Michael DePuy
This all started with me telling Bre no. After spending 18 months exploring a different franchise, which ended in us and that franchise not working out. Bre found Kona Ice. While I was burnt out on the process of starting a franchise and getting going again, Bre really believed in this idea and the concept of Kona Ice. Read more>>
Dylan Renzema
I was born in Mexico and grew up surrounded by the food and traditions of Yucatán. Cooking has always been a big part of my life because of my family. Before opening my restaurant, I worked different jobs, but I always dreamed of owning a place where I could share the food I grew up eating. Read more>>
Wan-Shu Lu
I’ve loved baking since I was a teenager. Whenever I visited Taiwan, I would always come home with boxes of pastries to share with family and friends. The Taiwanese pineapple cake has a special place in my heart. Read more>>
Nathenael Hailegiorgis
If someone had told me a years ago that I would be opening a center for ABA therapy I would not have believed them. Our journey to get here was not easy. It was an winding road that involved a lot of learning and taking risks. Read more>>
Bonnie Tomski
We have been a thrift shop for over 75 years. First as the OSU Folk Club Thrift Shop, and more recently we are doing business as Corvallis Community Thrift Shop. Every penny of profit from our Shop returns to our community (Benton County) as scholarships to Oregon State University and Linn-Benton Community College as well as grants to local non-profits. Read more>>
Casey & Whitney Hunt
We purchased a building downtown Pendleton in 2018. Casey’s financial office occupies one of the three spaces, another was leased to a single hairstylist, and the third sat vacant. At one point, we were in discussions with local restaurateurs about opening a noodle restaurant there. Read more>>
Joy Eberhardt De Master
I’m Dr. Joy Eberhardt De Master, MD, FAAP — or Dr. Joy. Read more>>
Tawnya Pearson
A-1 Hawk Jewelry & Loan was founded by our dad, Jimmy Pearson, in 1987. My sister, Sarah, and I grew up in the stores, learning the business from the ground up. Our dad taught us the importance of hard work, honesty, and always putting customers first values that still guide us today. Losing our dad in 2021 was the greatest challenge we’ve ever faced. Read more>>
Darci Haney
Carlton is a charming small town in the middle of the Willamette Valley. Nearly 20 years ago we purchased a fixer upper in Carlton and after pouring all of our extra time and money into that sweet old home, we turned it into a vacation rental! Read more>>
Jim Fernandez
Eight years ago, our family moved to McMinnville to remain close to our children as they began their college journeys. Today, one is a proud graduate of Linfield University and a McMinnville educator, and another is a current Linfield Wildcat, pursuing a bachelor’s in chemistry to become a primary care physician. Read more>>
Eric Milavetz
Six years ago, I opened Arcade 2084 in Hillsboro, a 21+ cocktail lounge with vintage games as atmosphere. An era accurate environment of the textures, sounds, the color palettes, the culture- and fun- of the 80s. We won multiple Gold Ribbons, including Best Cocktails, Best Nightclub, Best Entertainment Venue, Best Attraction, and yes, Best Arcade, too, beating million-dollar competitors at their own game. Read more>>
Don Titus
The design of homes has always been my passion; it’s what attracted me at a young age to the architectural profession. Around age twelve I was geeking out over floor plans in home magazines, and soon after that drawing my own for the ‘dream home’ I wanted my family to live in. Read more>>
Beth Mecklenburg
I’ve been active almost all of my life, either playing sports or working out in some form. I started at the gym that I now own about 12 yrs ago. Read more>>
Jason Lee
My passion for being in the garden and surrounded by flowers and plants began at a very young age and was encouraged by my grandparents large home garden and landscape. I ended up perusing a degree in horticulture with an emphasis in garden design and spent the first few years out of school working in both the landscape design and installation realm. Read more>>
Hallie Goulet
Growing up in a health-conscious, vegetarian household taught me the value of nutrition, but it also came with an underlying message of restriction. I spent years believing confidence came from eating less, exercising more, and making myself smaller. Read more>>
Muna Nash
I have been running English Style Tearooms for over 25 years. I spent many years in England and Ireland where I acquired my love of teatime. When I came back to the States, my best friend and I bought Lovejoy’s Tea Room in San Francisco together. Together, we helped open 3 more Lovejoy’s locations and one ‘baby sister’ location called Lovey’s Tea Shoppe. Read more>>
Ellen Bene
My path to interior design definitely wasn’t a straight line. Looking back, though, every twist ended up preparing me for what I do today. I’ve always loved homes. Even as a kid, I was fascinated by walking into someone’s house because every home told a story. Read more>>
Ashley Abdenour
I got into nutrition and fitness coaching after having a transformation myself, not only of my body, but of how I lived my day to day life. It was such a pivotal moment in my life and knew I wanted to help others walk through the same for themselves. For years I worked within other organizations, until around the time I had my son. Read more>>
Hallie Parkins
I’m an ELCA pastor, mom of two, and cellist. In February 2023, I began a call call to serve as pastor of a fallow (and feral) Lutheran campus ministry at Oregon State University. Over the past three years, I’ve worked with faithful colleagues, dreamers, and companions in the holy work of creating a space of belonging (radical, queer-affirming, always about love). Read more>>
Trish Wilson
My husband was retired. I was still running a daycare/ preschool in our home. After 35 years I needed a change. Idea of cat or dog boarding . We had both. Can’t do dogs in town. Made the decision easy. Checked laws, visited other batteries in several states. My husband and his brother and I designed this one and the boys built it. Read more>>
Tonie Lough
I’ve spent over a decade working with clients as a corrective exercise specialist, helping people reconnect with their bodies, move better, and recover from pain. Along the way, I kept recognizing the same thing — movement is powerful, but with the pace and stress of our modern lifestyles, it’s often not enough on its own. Read more>>
Elise Federspiel
My husband and I moved to Medford in 2020 in search of a slower pace and more sunshine. I found that for an area with such great weather, there were not very many ice cream shops and absolutely no shops producing their own ice cream from scratch, let alone interesting flavors. Read more>>
Jeffrey Mertins
I started graphic design as a really young kid and after years of IT work, doing graphic design on the side, I decided to go back to school to gain an official degree in Graphic Design. During this time I worked as the manager for a couple of companies when the opportunity to purchase One Day Signs came available. Read more>>
Derrick Wright
It started with me and my friends getting together to have a few drinks and play boardgames a few times a month. We would go out to bars and do this sometimes, but it always felt a bit strange. Read more>>
Siobhan Gibbs
I never once pictured myself in the wedding industry or working with a camera in my hand. I knew I would most likely end up in the entrepreneurial field, but if you would’ve asked me all the way up to the end of High School, photography wouldn’t have been in my top 10 of careers I would consider. Read more>>
Monique Nelson
Digital marketing has been my world since Yahoo was the go-to search engine. My career started at 19 with a six-person agency serving real estate agents in Lake Oswego. Over the next ten years, that scrappy startup grew to 200 employees, with me holding five different roles along the way including sales, strategy, customer care, and leadership. Read more>>
Seri Lopez
I have had a love of baking and cooking since I was young. Starting with my Suzie Bake Oven, through High School with Home Economics and then alongside my full-time positions working in the executive world of education and environmental engineering, I decided to become a Pampered Chef Consultant and Director going into people’s homes cooking for them and selling kitchen tools. Read more>>
Megan Caldwell
The truth is, I never thought of being a florist growing up. I was simply a fourteen year old girl that needed to find a job. I knew that with my young age, options were going to be limited. This is how I ended up job hunting in downtown Los Gatos, California. Read more>>
