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.
Shecarra Cook
My journey into healthcare and wellness has been shaped by a mix of curiosity, family influence, and a desire to help people in a meaningful way. I can pinpoint a few moments from my childhood that planted the seeds. Read more>>
Tashima Everhart
Tashima Everhart, a Houston native, Dallas-raised, is a natural-born hairstylist whose journey through beauty, business, and perseverance is as powerful as the transformations she creates behind the chair. Hair has been a part of Everhart’s life since childhood. What began as a passion at a young age grew into a calling—one that led her to cosmetology school at 18. Read more>>
Kent Wenzel
I was born and raised in Hamilton. After graduating from High School I moved to Dallas Ft. Worth thinking I’d seen enough of Hamilton, but after 10 years, I came back after growing up a bit. Its a small town and everybody feels like they are family. If your child is doing something wrong, they will tell you—not to be bad, but to be helpful. Read more>>
Venus Starr Hurst
Venus Staffing is a reputable global staffing agency located in the Dallas, Texas area, dedicated to connecting exceptional talent with prominent employers across various industries. Since our inception in 2001, we have assisted organizations of all sizes—from small enterprises to large corporations—in locating skilled, dependable, and qualified professionals to meet their evolving workforce demands. Read more>>
Elizabeth Nietert
Lonestar Home Watch was born out of a costly firsthand lesson in the fine print of homeowner’s insurance. We founded the company after our own insurance claim was denied because our home had been vacant for more than 30 days; as a result, we were forced to pay out of pocket for the extensive damage caused by burst pipes during a hard freeze. Read more>>
Genevieve and Chris Martin
My name is Genevieve Martin, and I am a US citizen who immigrated to the United States from Ghana in 2004. I immediately fell in love with my new country and began working in healthcare at different hospitals in the DFW area. Read more>>
Amanda Allison
Our story actually started with finding the joy in life after traumatic hardship. I always jokingly told my husband ‘one day when we retire…’ but the same year we were married, he had a catastrophic injury on duty. It flipped our little world upside down, and we decided to focus on family, healing and helping others celebrate. Read more>>
Jeremiah Flores
Thank you for having me! My name is Jeremiah Flores and I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. I was able to achieve where I am today by climbing up the corporate ladder and pursuing higher education. I began at fourteen doing door-to-door sales and then transitioning into a corporate role. In doing so the company flourished. Read more>>
Emani Fields
I started my hair business in Oklahoma City, where I had a small but loyal client base. Eventually I realized that if I wanted to grow, I needed to put myself in a bigger market, so I moved to Dallas with zero clients, zero guarantees, and a lot of faith in my work ethic and vision. When I arrived, nobody knew my name. Read more>>
Kim Sullivan
I began my career in education, spending 14 years teaching students from kindergarten through high school. Throughout that time, I discovered that the most meaningful part of my work was the relationships I built with students—particularly at the high school level. Read more>>
karri Wilson
My journey into Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy began at home, with my own family. As a mother to a son with learning differences, I experienced firsthand the challenges families face when their children need more individualized support. Read more>>
Nicole and Chad Morrill
SafeCave was born from experience and a desire to build something better. After years in corporate sales, Chad and I knew we wanted to create a business of our own built on quality, integrity, and purpose. In 2017, we began working exclusively in the storm shelter industry, where we quickly realized the market was focused on minimum standards rather than maximum performance. Read more>>
Don Marshall
My journey has been a blend of entrepreneurship, service, and constantly being willing to learn what I thought I already knew. Before Primerica, I worked as an IT professional. At the same time, my wife and I built and ran a personal training and boot camp facility in Arlington, Texas. Read more>>
Adetokunbo ‘Toki’ Oduneye
My journey into immigration law is deeply personal and shaped by lived experience. I come from a family of immigrants, and growing up, I saw firsthand how transformative and overwhelming the immigration process can be. That early exposure planted a seed long before I ever set foot in a law school classroom. Read more>>
John Hardie
The National Videogame Museum was founded by John Hardie, Sean Kelly and Joe Santulli, 3 friends who had been collecting videogames and memorabilia since the early 1980’s. Their quest went beyond just having games – they wanted to know who wrote them, what secrets were in the code, what was going on at the companies that made them, etc. Read more>>
Shawn Gurn
I spent the majority of my career in marketing and had the privilege of working on some of the premier brands in the U.S. When I decided to move on to entrepreneurship, I researched franchises and both my wife and I ended up owning franchise businesses. Read more>>
Yenni Haryanti
Throughout my career in hospitality — working in hotels, airlines, tour & travel agencies, and restaurants — I always found myself back in the kitchen. Serving others through food became a family passion. My husband, who worked in Japanese restaurants, later opened one of the first sushi food trucks in the Bay Area in 2011. After moving to Plano, Texas in 2013, we continued sharing our food with friends, and eventually, through word of mouth, our customer base grew. Read more>>
Veronica Luviano
I began doing nails because I loved doing my own nails, and as an immigrant, I was tired of working in kitchens. What started as something I enjoyed quickly became a passion and a way for me to create a better life. I first worked in salons, learning the industry hands-on and building experience. Read more>>
Tiffany Wicks
In December of 2015, I had my first child, my daughter. Pregnancy was beautiful, birth was hard, and postpartum was excruciating. I was depressed from day 2. Not only did I struggle with breastfeeding, but I live far away from my friends and my family. Read more>>
Mallory Collins
I graduated from massage therapy school in 2003 in Emeryville California. I worked for Lainey Junior college in Oakland California in their athletic department for about 2 1/2 years. I moved to Texas in 2008, started with a Massage Envy so I could get back into Massage and build a clientele. Read more>>
Kenneth Johnson
Dallas Elite Track Club started with a simple vision: to create a place where athletes could develop not only speed and strength, but confidence, discipline, and character. In the early days, we began with a small group of athletes / limited resources / a single training location, driven by a passion for track and a belief that consistent coaching and accountability could change lives. Read more>>
Jasmine Shaw
After moving to Dallas, I taught as a special education inclusion teacher at Lake Highlands. While I loved my students and colleagues, I continued to experience firsthand the challenges many educators face—limited resources, shared workspaces, and the constant pressure to do more with less. Those experiences stretched me, but they also sharpened my resolve and clarified why social-emotional learning and care for the whole child matter so deeply. Read more>>
Alan Chamberlain
50 West is owned and operated by Denton local Alan Chamberlain (with a little bit of help from his two daughters Jenna and Ashley). “Growing up the middle of five kids in a pastors home in the 60s and 70s was a magical time. If the doors on our home had a lock, I don’t ever remember using them. Read more>>
Dr. Nore Salman
I began my career as a therapist, focused on human behavior and the internal patterns that shape performance. That work led me into supporting high-functioning leaders and corporations, where I saw firsthand how leadership psychology directly impacts culture, execution, and results. Read more>>
Elvira Davila-Campos
In 2018 My husband and I Stared out Dry Ice business with a strong vision and very limited resources. The journey was not easy. We faced many challenges, from building trust to reaching our first customers. Our first support came from local restaurants that believed in our product and quality. Through hard work, consistency, and commitment, our business continued to grow. Read more>>
Louann Cranford
. I am a Tarleton State University graduate with a BS-Business Education degree. . I taught high school business for 6 years before entering the business industry, working as an Executive Assistant in insurance, public accounting, and property management, with the bulk of that time spent in property management assisting with management and operations of large properties and multi-family housing. . Read more>>
Megan Phelps
I moved several times as a child, and every time my family packed up and started over, I found myself fascinated by the home buying and home building process. To me, it felt like an adventure! Walking through different houses, imagining daily life in each one, and figuring out which one fit our family best – it all stuck with me. Read more>>
Monica Hernandez
I started from a young age watching my mom decorate for our parties and life events, eventually learning alongside her. I started making my own decorations when I could not find what I wanted at the local party store. I quickly realized the finished looks were even more special because I had created them myself. I started decorating larger events for family fifteen years ago. Read more>>
Jason Pollard
Well, I grew up in Fort Worth, and started working in the service industry at 17. About a year after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, a friend of mine who had fled the storm arranged a trip back to see what the city was like a year later and asked if I’d like to join him. Read more>>
Christian Peterson
My journey into early childhood education in Texas began unexpectedly in 2019, shortly after my husband and I welcomed our sixth child. We had just relocated to Texas after living in the United Arab Emirates for seven years, and while I had been home supporting our family during that transition, I deeply missed working outside the home as an educator. Read more>>
Abbie Smith
My path to becoming a counselor was shaped by both interest in counseling and personal growth. I had always been curious about how people think and why they chose certain behaviors. In my twenties, I experienced an unhealthy relationship that ended painfully. While difficult, that season of life became a turning point. Read more>>
Trey Mast
I imagine most small businesses start as a hobby. Growing definitely did for me—emphasis on hobby, not success. When my family and I lived in Tokyo, I attempted (and failed) to grow tomatoes on our tiny rooftop in buckets. Then we moved to Brooklyn, where I had a small yard and, once again, failed. Read more>>
DVonna White
I moved to Dallas Texas, February will make 7 years. With only my 3 small children all under the age of 5. No family. No village. Only us. So it was difficult keeping jobs with daycare and eventually school. Read more>>
Rane Tomlinson
I was born in Manhattan, New York and divorced in 1998. We had four children, 2 boys and two girls. My precious children and granddaughters are doing great, praise God. Three are married and the youngest is not married. I started writing books in High School, in Youngstown, Ohio. Read more>>
Aj Brown
i got super sick after graduating high school. I wasnt able to stand up vertical due to no spinal pressure so i was always losing jobs because i was always sick. so i decided to start building motorcycles out of my house. it eventually got so busy i had to move into a commercial business and thats when in 2009 chop shop motorsports was invented. Read more>>
Jessica & Todd Robinson Zombie Tourney
We started The Zombie Tourney pre Covid. Our goal was to not play basketball at 8am on Saturday morning ! W Florence schedule entirely and started our event at 7pm and run through the early morning hrs Usually ending between 2-3am Our event is one of a kind and remains the only overnight basketball tourney in the state . Read more>>
Florida Lacy
My path to entrepreneurship wasn’t something I planned from the start—it grew out of life experience, hard work, and a desire to create something better and to give back. Read more>>
Raul Lara
Early on, I was involved in club promotions and live events in the Dallas area. That experience gave me a front-row seat to how branding, messaging, and timing actually influence people, not just on paper but in real environments. From there, I moved into the apparel and promotional space and started my own clothing brand called GOOD BRAND. Read more>>
Dena Wood
My name is Dena Wood, and I established Building Blocks of Hope Learning Center in 2016 with a genuine commitment to care for children and support families. What started as a small home daycare was built on a vision of creating a safe, nurturing, and structured environment where children can learn, grow, and truly flourish. Read more>>
Brandon Donnell
In the 70s & 80s & early 90s I worked at a Christian Radio Station in Dallas called KVTT. One of our outreaches was sending books, bibles and cassette tapes to many countries throughout the world. Through that media outreach I came into contact with many people in India and Africa. Read more>>
Ernie Stripling
This is a story of how a background in fine art and technology converged into a meaningful life. About Me Born in Tyler and raised in Arlington, my creative journey began when my father moved our family to North Texas to work at the brand-new GM manufacturing plant. Read more>>
Lori Williams
My career in senior living spans nearly two decades, but my passion for this work is deeply personal. My grandmother, Emelita, had dementia, and she was truly my inspiration for entering senior living in the first place. She was an incredible woman—strong, generous, and grounded in deep faith. Read more>>
Nana MIreku
I am a board-certified pediatric allergist with over 15 years of experience, and I’ve had the privilege of caring for thousands of allergic families throughout the DFW area. My passion is helping families overcome seasonal allergies, asthma, eczema, and food allergies so they can live a life of relief. My journey into allergy medicine is deeply personal. Read more>>
Tim Waswick
My business partner AJ had Aspen Tree Service sitting idle back in 2013. His brother Austin who started the business used to run it and had passed away tragically, leaving the equipment just sitting around. I was attempting to get another business idea of the ground back then, and was not making much money. Read more>>
Justin Emerson
After the Army I drifted from job to job. I finally decided construction would be my career. I have family in the trades and grew up working with my hands so it wasn’t a hard decision. I started working for a General Contractor as a laborer. During this time I was exposed to many skills, trades, and admin related aspects of construction. Read more>>
Eddie Alkurd
I started this business in 2010 with one vehicle working around the clock every day and night, in 2017 when Uber entered the market in Weatherford, I decided that I had to expand my business in order to compete and survive, I did so by purchasing 15 passenger shuttles and sprinter limousines. Read more>>
Elisha Drake
I decided after 8 years of teaching to become a licensed counselor. Lots of events in my life led to this decision. I grew up with childhood trauma, basically counseled kids and parents when teaching, and also led women’s freedom ministry at my church. Read more>>
Samuel Thomas
The story of our church is a story that begins from my childhood. Ever since I was young, I have been different. I haven’t cared to conform to the regular ways of doing things. This was especially true in church. I always had a deep respect for religious things, especially since my grandpa was a pastor and my family was deeply involved in church. Read more>>
Lexee Love
I have always wanted to be an actress. When I was in the 3rd grade, the school was performing ‘Peter Pan’. I was shy back then, so I didn’t audition for the play. But the desire never left me. I participated in the school’s talent shows. In the 8th grade, we performed ‘Beat It’ by Michael Jackson. We won 2nd place. I loved to dance. Read more>>
Melinda Woodward
Melinda K Photography started on the sidelines of jiu-jitsu and wrestling tournaments, where I was simply taking photos of my son doing what he loved. I quickly fell in love with capturing the hard work, emotion, and moments that happen both on and off the mat. Read more>>
Willow Run Pet Resort Willow Run Pet Resort
At Willow Run Pet Resort, we are relatively new ownership group, having taken the reins from the previous owners approximately three years ago. As first-time business owners, we’ve navigate our journey with dedication. Initially, our team consisted of five owners, but we currently operate with a quartet of owners. Read more>>
CLE XO
CLE XO is an R&B artist from Dallas, Texas, blending soulful melodies with a self‑made, hands‑on approach to music. A former rapper turned vocalist, CLE XO has evolved his sound into something richer and more melodic, crafting songs that reflect both growth and authenticity. Read more>>
Brooke Mauderer
I started doing Videography and editing when I was very young. As long as I could remember my siblings and I would make ‘movies’ growing up, and I would always be the sister who edited them all. My dad purchased me my first editing program when I was around 10 years old, and that was the backbone for everything I do today. Read more>>
Catina Thomas
My journey began with a profound understanding that support and guidance can significantly alter the trajectory of a life. Over the years, through personal growth, community work, and professional experience, I saw firsthand how many young people, especially those transitioning out of foster care, were expected to navigate adulthood without the stability, resources, or encouragement they deserved. Read more>>
Susan Brewer
I started building Buffalo Trails Cabins in 2020 and we opened in March of 2021. It is a unique vacation destination . My 8 old west style cabins are all unique. You can stay in Marshall Dillon’s jail( complete with bunks ,inside the cell. My stables each contain stalls. The saloons each have a small bar and table. Read more>>
Apoua Tonga
1 years ago in 2015, we created TOLOA Polynesian Dance; to preserve, perpetuate & promote our South Pacific cultures. Not only did I want to start this group to preserve our culture, but I wanted my daughter to know and always remember who she is and where she comes from. Read more>>
Raymar Dugarte
I am a Venezuelan woman who arrived in the United States in 2019 with my husband and our two year old son, full of dreams, faith, and a deep desire to start over. We arrived without help and without a support network, but with a very clear conviction to do things right from the beginning, legally and correctly. Read more>>
