{"id":188688,"date":"2026-03-12T13:50:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/188688\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T13:50:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:50:15","slug":"jacksonvilles-most-inspiring-stories-voyage-jacksonville-magazine-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/188688\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville’s Most Inspiring Stories – Voyage Jacksonville Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we\u2019ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can\u2019t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below.<\/p>\n

Melanie Fletcher
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The journey of photography has been an adventure to say the least, when I got my first paid client I had no idea that it would blossom into a full time career, but I will always be grateful I took the risk of leaving my full time job to pursue my passion. While there have mostly been goods, living with endometriosis & infertility has changed how I see time, bodies, and the journey of life & motherhood in general. December of 2025, I underwent my fourth and final abdominal surgery (two specifically for endo)\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Linda Hart
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I began my journey in the mental health and marriage and family field, due to personal challenges and working in ministry. Relationships are strained and marriages fail because of various factors related to work, life and religious balancing of expectations and responsibilities. At that time, divorce rates were higher in the bible belt than in secular.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Alvin King
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I was introduced to money at an early age. Growing up in a middle-class household, unfortunately we did not talk about saving or investing money. At the age of 15 and after the passing of both of my parents, I was told that they left me a Trust Fund that I had access to when I turned 18.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Shirley Jones
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As a young black girl growing up in the 1960\u2019s in Alabama, I set out to become a physician. I grew up believing education was freedom. I attended an HBCU for college and later medical school at Meharry Medical College, where I was trained not only in science but in service. Medicine to me was always about responsibility to community, to prevention and to dignity.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Amanda Cason
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My goal of becoming a dance teacher began early in my childhood and has continued to shape every step of my journey. Raised in a small town where the arts weren\u2019t often encouraged as a profession, I held tightly to my passion for dance while navigating adolescence and my own struggles with body image and self-esteem.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Reannen Dixon
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I first started out in college at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. After deciding school was way too expensive for my mom, I decided to drop out after year 1 and pursued cosmetology school\u2026which I always had an interest in. Upon finishing up hair school, I found out I was pregnant.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Lisa Hill-Ellis
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I\u2019ve always seen myself as artistic, even in the way I dress. Style, to me, has always been a form of self-expression. One day, while browsing a fashion website, I watched women transform men\u2019s ties into wearable art. They weren\u2019t just accessories anymore; they were statements. As women, what we wear can spark conversation, it becomes a piece of who we are.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Emily Condle
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I started my career working in dermatology and plastic surgery offices, where I spent over a decade immersed in skin health, scalp conditions, and advanced aesthetic treatments. That experience gave me a deep understanding of results-driven services \u2014 but I also saw a gap in the market. Clients were craving something that blended clinical efficacy with true relaxation and nervous-system-level restoration.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Aaron Plotz
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My path into mental health counseling began with my own experience in therapy as a child and young adult. Receiving mental health support during those formative years was incredibly beneficial and gave me firsthand insight into the power of being heard, understood, and guided through life\u2019s challenges.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Stephen Jones
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I did not wake up one day and say, \u201cI would like to start a tech company.\u201d I woke up one day and said, \u201cThere has to be a better way to do this.\u201d I have always been a builder. A creator.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Brandon Avila
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I have been an Auto Technician for 20 years working at various shops. One of the shops I worked at was a Dodge dealership. While working at Dodge I met Eli Ankou through a mutual friend and he needed help with repairing his Hellcat. After determining what would fix his Hellcat Eli decided to also upgrade his car.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Diana Sobrino
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I have always been involved in the arts since a young age, particularly with Ballet. Born and raised in Germany, I tirelessly worked towards being a pro as a student of the John-Cranko school. Fast forward, we move to Florida and training here was different to say the least. So, I continued to carry my passion for ballet in my heart and dreams.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Cassidy Kyle
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The first time I remember baking, I was about eight years old. I would wake up early on Saturday mornings and make the bag muffins with my dad. I always enjoyed baking growing up.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Sabrina Cisternas<\/p>\n

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My story is this.. my name is Sabrina Cisternas. I am Russian and I am the owner of Pure Grace Solutions LLC a Christian Residential\/Commercial Cleaning Company that covers all of Florida. Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Steven Stallone
<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t start Stallone\u2019s Pro Wash with a grand master plan. I started it with a pressure washer, a work ethic, and a desire to build something of my own. At the time, I was working in corporate management. On paper, it looked stable.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Theresa Cruz
<\/p>\n

Guardian Montessori Academy is a school in St Johns County that fosters strong independent students that are ready for any challenge entering the school system. We are a traditional Montessori school . Our students learn life skills, independence, sharing, critical thinking, empathy, academics and math.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Joseph Orallo
<\/p>\n

My name is JP Orallo founder of the first refill company in the state of Florida it all started when there was a time where a large hospital system for was going through a change of health care insurance. And exactly at the same time Another insurance company was also debating changes in a different and also large hospital system.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Jessica Mckeefery
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I began my career in healthcare with a deep desire to make a meaningful impact in people\u2019s lives. Early on, I realized I was drawn not just to treating illness, but to helping patients optimize their health, confidence, and overall quality of life.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Christopher Austin<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I grew up in a trailer park on Jacksonville\u2019s westside, raised by a single mom who did everything she could to provide. She begged, borrowed, and sacrificed to make sure we had what we needed. Through it all, she always told me I could do better than she did\u2014and more importantly, made sure I saw the people she wanted me to be like.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Cynthia Smalls
<\/p>\n

Cynthia Smalls is a breast cancer survivor, author, and advocate dedicated to empowering Black women navigating breast cancer. Diagnosed in May 2016 with Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS), she underwent a lumpectomy and radiation therapy, leading to a cancer-free outcome. She is the Founder\/Owner of Melanin & Pink Ribbons Wellness Company, LLC, which exists to empower Black women facing breast cancer and to strengthen all women through truth-telling, education, and uplifting storytelling. The company provides supportive wellness resources, self-help and motivational books, and fiction that restores hope, builds resilience, and champions the courage of women in every season of life.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Daniel Brisuda
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I\u2019ve been interested in Chiropractic since I first experienced this care in my early teens. I always felt so much better afterward. A competitive swimmer through Middle and High School, I swam my way through college undergrad before attending Palmer College of Chiropractic in Florida. Along the way, chiropractic care and a balanced, holistic, lifestyle have and continue to energize me. I LOVE being able to help others. My goal is to empower those who come to see me both with information via the Gonstead method of chiropractic and a customized care plan; so they can make their best next steps health decision.\u00a0Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":180549,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[589,116,118,117,64045,670],"class_list":["post-188688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-featured","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-localguide","tag-other"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}