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.
Lesli Patton
I worked in the medical field for 10 years, all the while still holding onto the steady passion for baking. I found my hobby baking becoming more popular and eventually it had grown into another full time job. I knew at that point I needed to make a decision on which career to keep. I decided that baking was what truly made me happy and last May, I left my medical job to become a full time cottage baker. I have not regretted one minute of my decision. Read more>>
Amanda Summers
From Dream to Healing Haven In September 2019, after marrying my husband, I moved from Florida to Tennessee. After many years of working in trauma through an agency, I carried with me a heartfelt dream – to create a private practice where people could find hope and healing in a deeply personal way. Read more>>
Yvonne Smith
Our Story When I first met my husband Tim, he dreamt of owning his own business. I on the other hand dreamt of owning an art studio that was open for the community where people of all ages, from all walks of life, of all creative abilities, could come and create. I have lived in Blount County for over 45 years. Read more>>
Jamie DeVoe
I always tell everyone that I took the “long route” to get to where I am today. I graduated with my Bachelors of Animal Science from the University of Tennessee knowing I wanted to work with people in the medical field in some capacity, but I wasn’t sure what career path I wanted to take to get there. Read more>>
Patrick Lee Hebert
I grew up in a little town in rural New Hampshire.I got my start playing the piano at 10 years old. I started playing at my friend’s house in his garage by ear. Two years later, I began to take lessons and by the age of 14 I was a child performer and a full-time musician at a church. Read more>>
Cindy Miller
I’ve been selling something for as long as I can remember. I sold punch boards when I was 4 yrs old. Then I graduated to selling farm products. We had a large dairy farm, and we always had an abundance of everything from vegetables to fruits and berries. Our parents would let us sell anything we picked ourselves. Read more>>
Emma Poole
I’m Emma Poole, a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist proudly serving the Maryville/East Tennessee community. I was born and raised in Blount County, so “home” has always meant these mountains, rivers, and the connections of this place. I earned both my B.A. in Psychology and my M.S. in Marital & Family Therapy at Lee University, graduating in 2019. Read more>>
Jake Martin
I began my electrical career in 1990 as an apprentice with Lewis Electric. Over the years, I’ve remained dedicated to the electrical trade, gaining hands-on experience in both residential and commercial work. After spending 15 years as an electrical inspector for the City of Oak Ridge, I decided to pursue new opportunities and explore business ownership. Read more>>
Allyson Virden
Mid Mod Collective was started when a group of vintage furniture dealers decided to take our obsession with mid century modern furniture to the next level. We combined our love of mid century modern and our desire to create a space for beautiful furniture to the next level. Mid Mod Collective as evolved over the last decade. Read more>>
Amber Collins
My mom worked for a chiropractor that also utilizied homeopathics when I was young. We used different methods of healing throughout my childhood. At a point in my first corporate career I began experiencing frequent migraines. Acupuncture was one of multiple methods I used to heal this issue. During my first session in acupuncture, I realized it was something I was meant to practice. Read more>>
Jazmyn Janow
As anyone in the helping professions can relate, I grew up with a servant’s heart and a passion for taking care of others. That began with local and international mission projects, helping communities meet their needs and build social support. When college came around, I was certain nursing was my calling… until Anatomy and Physiology proved me wrong. Read more>>
Molly Conaway
I come from a family of coaches, educators, and farmers in Central Illinois. Growing up I loved playing “school” with my dolls and brothers and anyone else I could convince to participate. My undergrad is in English Language Learners (ELL) Education. Read more>>
Jason and Hope Young
My husband and I own National Property Inspections East Tennessee. For eight years, he worked as a property inspector with the same company before we took the exciting step of purchasing the business ourselves in August of this year. Before that, I was a stay-at-home, homeschool mom to our two children, so this venture has truly become a family effort. Read more>>
Mark Dudek
I started playing guitar when I was around fourteen years old, and was pretty active with it up through high school and college. For years afterward I mostly set it aside, until in 2015 I went to my first pirate festival on a whim while vacationing in Beaufort, NC. Read more>>
Barbara Latinka
I started Yellow Tree Photography about twelve years ago with a simple but meaningful goal – to make professional photography accessible and affordable for families. As a wife and mother of three daughters, family has always been at the heart of everything I do. Read more>>
Lindsay Matijevich
I first got into physical therapy by coming from a family of physical therapists. Both my parents are PT’s, my aunt and uncle are PT’s and I even married a PT! My husband and I attended the same physical therapy school and have been PT’s for 10 years. Read more>>
Naomi Asher
I’m Naomi Asher — leadership and nonprofit consultant, Enneagram coach, and proud East Tennessean. For nearly 20 years, I’ve been consumed with helping people and organizations lead better and have a bigger impact. I started in the nonprofit world pretty quickly after college, starting in the front office and working up to executive leadership. Read more>>
Kelsey Wood
I’ve always been interested in photography, but my love of photography took a backseat once I entered college. I choose to major in accounting out of a desire for a stable job. I even went on to get a masters in accounting from UTK and my CPA designation. A couple years into my public accounting career, I realized how poorly I’d chosen. Read more>>
Kayla Minardi
I am originally from the Hudson Valley, New York where I worked in hospitality & events. My husband and I moved to Tennessee in 2019 to start a family, but also because I wanted to start a cut flower farm. I had three babies while growing the cut flower business. Read more>>
Steph Iles
My early career was as a financial analyst in high tech. I then took a break to raise and homeschool my two boys. When they graduated, I was looking for the next thing. I decided to go back to school and get my degree as an LMFT. I loved working with teens and families. Read more>>
James Owens
* Knox Pride began as the East Tennessee Equality Council, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2006. * Over time, the organization expanded beyond just organizing annual Pride events. They built out programs for community outreach, support groups, life skills classes, and more. Read more>>
Aaron Thompson
This interview I did in 2015 best explains where I came from and how things progressed for the first ten years of Sapphire. https://insideofknoxville.com/2015/09/sapphire-celebrates-its-10th-anniversary/ Here’s a roadmap of how things went. Foundational growth at Sapphire — working up from bartender to owner, learning the nuts and bolts of operations, cocktails, wine, service, food, design, local sourcing, hospitality. Read more>>
Diane Powell
I grew up in middle Tennessee and then after college went into the Army as a communications officer. This led me to living in different countries and settling in Washington DC for almost 25 years. There I learned to love the historic homes and began my renovating addiction. Before HGTV! I worked at NASA HQ during the day and renovated during every other waking hour. Read more>>
Devon Potvin
Born and raised in hollywood.fl grew up in a rough neighborhood. Got in with the wrong crowd and went down the path of addiction,woke up one day and completely changed my life since then i have never looked back been sober since[13 years].came to tennessee with a dufflebag on a greyhound bus with my partner that I have been with for 10 years. Read more>>
John Powers
I was slow to discover art. I grew up in rural parts of Indiana and then Tennessee, and didn’t become aware of contemporary art until I was in college. I had always been interested in creative things but just was not aware of the contemporary art world or any of the possibilities connected to it. Read more>>
Angela Taylor
I started a resale consignment antique and vintage warehouse on Amherst Rd 10 years ago called Floyd’s Antiques. It was to resale and help elderly people sale their items when they had to downsize or go to assisted living. Or the family to sell items when a loved one had passed. It also included on site estate sales. Read more>>
Lane Gonzalez
My mother, Jackie Gonzalez, has been in the mortgage industry for almost 30 years. My father was in education for +20 years. My parents gave me a strong foundation from which to explore the world both personally and professionally. My mother always said I’d be great in the mortgage industry, but I needed to grow up a little bit first. Read more>>
Jarren Odum
I got started in real estate back in 2013 after returning home from the U.S. Air Force, where I served as a Military Police Officer, including a tour in Baghdad, Iraq. When I came back to my hometown, I wasn’t quite sure what was next — until my uncle Larry suggested I look into real estate. Read more>>
Jennifer and Derek Pike
Jennifer had been pet sitting in peoples homes since she was a teenager. As an adult she went back to school and was working as a substitute teacher. Derek was working as a maintenance technician. During Covid there was no work for substitute teachers as learning was virtual, so Jennifer and Derek began fostering dogs through a rescue. Read more>>
Tania Rysavy
We are originally from Salem, Oregon and moved to Crossville, TN while in Oregon My husband of 33 yrs, was in the military and a part of the WMD CST in Salem, OR. One of our three daughters was engaged and while looking for a venue I thought that was something I would like to do. Read more>>
Debi Stafford
I became a family nurse practitioner after my second daughter became disabled. I was disillusioned with the lack of health care and decided to be the change from the inside out. I always dreamed of having a primary care clinic. After graduating with my undergraduate degree I knew I would need to work in a hospital for a time to develop my skills. Read more>>
Liza Acosta
I went on to attend Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in human services with double minors in Psychology and Sociology. After graduation, I returned home to Florida and pursued my master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Nova Southeastern University. Because of my passion for people and relationships, I narrowed my scope of practice and became a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I believe that truly helping someone requires a systemic approach—one that integrates culture, education, family dynamics, and life experiences—otherwise, we risk missing a key part of the person’s story. Read more>>
Nemesia Sorcar
I moved to Knoxville 3 years ago to start my Acupuncture business here in South Knoxville. I have been practicing Acupuncture for 8 years total, and decided to move to Knoxville because I wanted to live near the mountains and wanted a change of scenery from where I had been. Read more>>
