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.
Allison Stewart Bishins
I’m the kind of person who thrives when I have lots of different jobs. I started my small business journey selling vintage clothes on Etsy, and then started my handmade jewelry brand. That morphed into business consulting, social media marketing training, and hosting in-person workshops and markets. Read more>>
Caci Harmon
In 2017 my husband was retiring from the Army, and I needed to find a career. I really wanted to help people and was looking at different programs that would allow me to do that. I had been intrigued with massage at one point in my life and looked into schools that offered massage therapy courses. Read more>>
Mark Dunaway
Started plumbing while living in mammoth lakes calfornia in 1999. Worked for a local plumbing company until deciding to move to Washington state in 2004. Angeles plumbing had an ad in the local paper which I responded to prior to the move and was hired in March of 2004. Arrived in Port Angeles on a Friday and started with Angeles Plumbing on the following Monday. Read more>>
Sean & Sofia Fuller
Sean’s Story: Like many kids, I started baking early. I was in second grade when I first learned from my dad, who baked every day and never treated it as something unusual or gender-specific. In our house, the rule was simple: if I baked it, I could eat it. That was all the motivation I needed. Read more>>
Alexandra Toombs
I started in live music marketing — running campaigns for more than 300 events a year. It was high-volume, high-pressure work, and it built my instincts fast. When you’re marketing that many shows across that many audiences, you learn quickly what works and what doesn’t. The turning point came when I took a four-week trip to Australia and New Zealand. Read more>>
Dr. Keith Harris
As a retired soldier, I understand firsthand the realities of military life and the constant transitions that come with serving wherever you are needed most. Throughout my years in the military, one challenge remained consistent no matter the duty station — finding affordable housing, whether temporary or permanent, during relocation. Read more>>
Ben Morley
I grew up in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, a small, tight-knit community in the Pacific Northwest that shaped me in ways I’m still discovering. It’s a place that builds self-reliance and a deep appreciation for community, and I carry both of those things with me everywhere I go. Read more>>
David Dykstra
Our Story In the beginning, we were “The Lawn Rangers.” Just a couple of kids walking door to door in Ponderosa, asking if people needed their lawn mowed or weeds pulled. Since our start in 2018, our business has become almost unrecognizable as we now run multiple crews and have more equipment than we ever dreamed of. Read more>>
Dayne Kuhlmann
I didn’t set out to build an agency, I set out to build something meaningful. Victory Media started about eight years ago with a simple idea: great storytelling, executed the right way, can actually move businesses forward. Early on, it was a grind. We took on anything we could, made mistakes, learned fast, and reinvested everything back into getting better … Read more>>
Brandon Fielding
As a family of practitioners, we saw a gap between normal therapy services and acute services, like inpatient. All we have as a society is the ER, which isn’t set up to handle mental health. As a way to address that gap, and take the load off of ER workers and first responders (like the police or firefighters/paramedics), we created Birchstone Mental Health Urgent Care. Read more>>
Tasia Sirmans
Growing up in a small town I always knew and felt like I wanted something bigger, at the age of 13 my mom moved us to Tampa, Florida from Spokane, Washington . Not knowing a thing about big cities I struggled for awhile trial and error learning the ropes of what it is to live a fast paced life . Read more>>
DAN BARBO
Barbo’s Plumbing started with a dream of going out on my own, a wrench, a work truck, and the support of my wife and kids. Read more>>
Pamela Moore
I grew up in Seattle and discovered my passion for performing early on through theater. In high school, I joined the music program and taught myself to play steel-string acoustic guitar and piano. In the early 1980s, I released my first two albums, ‘Take a Look’ and ‘You Won’t Find Me There’. Read more>>
Shilpi Verma
Last year, I was running a preschool, and every day I observed something magical. Children would walk into class carrying their little worries, moods, distractions, or endless energy but the moment art and craft time began, something changed. They forgot everything. The room transformed. Tiny hands reached for colors, scissors, glue, paint, and paper with complete excitement. Time seemed to disappear for them. Read more>>
Thomas Bacon
I was born and raised in Wisconsin, and moved to Portland, Oregon in my 20s falling in love with the PNW. I returned home for a time, and discovered painting and learning what running a business entailed. I realized I could make money by myself and for myself, while honing my craft and skills. There is something beautiful about old houses. Read more>>
Lisa Mensonides
My sewing journey began the summer I was 10 years old, when my mother taught me how to sew a teddy bear. The following summer I started sewing skirts, ecstatic at the idea of wearing something I had created “all by myself”. Read more>>
Cassandra Vantriet
I’m a 3x founder with one exit. My path has always been unconventional, I never subscribed to the ‘normal’ school or career path, it always felt like it wasn’t designed for me to express and utilize my unique skillset. This left me feeling lost and unsure of what my purpose was for many years. Read more>>
