{"id":415517,"date":"2026-10-01T08:10:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T08:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/415517\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T08:10:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T08:10:19","slug":"jacksonvilles-most-inspiring-stories-voyage-jacksonville-magazine-46","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/415517\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville\u2019s Most Inspiring Stories \u2013 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

Kiala Pigott <\/p>\n

I was raised in a small town located in Baker County, FL. My heart for service was cultivated through my family\u2019s values and legacy. I come from a large, close-knit family that is full of athletes and creatives. Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my great-grandmother. She instilled the importance of working hard and trusting God. Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Tina Burch <\/p>\n

I\u2019m Tina Burch, the founder of ABLE Jacksonville Charity Inc. The idea grew from my experience raising my son DeVanne, who has an intellectual disability. As he became an adult, I saw how much harder it was to find opportunities to keep learning, build friendships, and practice everyday skills. Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Morgan Applewhite <\/p>\n

My journey with Botanical Moments started with a leap of faith. I spent years in corporate America, building a career in compliance, risk, and legal support, while also knowing that entrepreneurship and creativity were a major part of who I was. Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Patrick Burger <\/p>\n

My background is in water resources engineering, so becoming a brewery owner was a different kind of undertaking for me. As the original founder and president of Cypress & Grove Brewing Co., I\u2019ve helped bring new life to a historic Gainesville property while building a business that brings people together. Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Willetta Phillips <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been creating for as long as I can remember. Whether it\u2019s fabric or food, I love taking something simple and turning it into something special. I started sewing doll clothes for my dolls at the age of 08, and started cooking at the age of 11. Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Stephanie Orth <\/p>\n

I first auditioned for the Attack Dance Team in 2016 and was fortunate enough to dance for the team during the 2017 & 2018 seasons. During my veteran season in 2018, I suffered an injury and ultimately decided that returning for another season as a dancer wasn\u2019t the best decision for me. Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Doreen Bonney <\/p>\n

For more than 15 years, Let Mommy Sleep has been dedicated to providing families with professional overnight newborn care during one of the most important\u2014and challenging\u2014seasons of their lives. Our mission is simple but life-changing: to give new parents the rest, confidence, and peace of mind they need while caring for a newborn. My connection to this mission is deeply personal. Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Kate Vallas <\/p>\n

Back in 2009, the owner of Black Creek Outfitters was a yoga student of mine at Yoga Den. He told me about the concept of Paddleboard Yoga and asked if I would be interested in coming out and trying it on their lake. The first time I practiced on the water- I knew this was something special. Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Kristel Vanderheiden <\/p>\n

My journey into photography actually started somewhat by accident. In 2007, while I was in college, I signed up for a film photography class as an elective because, quite frankly, I thought it would be an easy A. I had no idea that decision would completely change the direction of my life. Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

H.R. Burkett <\/p>\n

When I was about three or four years old, I made up a song. I performed it for my parents, and my mom immediately wrote it down. After that, I performed my little song for anyone who would sit still long enough to listen. So, I guess you could say I was \u2018writing\u2019 long before I knew how to write! Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Jaquana Cutter <\/p>\n

My love for hair started when I was a little girl. I remember going to the salon with my mom and watching the stylist work, always fascinated by the process and the way hair could transform how someone felt about themselves. Even then, I knew there was something about hair that really interested me. Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Kealalani Baumann <\/p>\n

It all started fourteen years ago this Christmas, when a batch of holiday gingerbread cookies sparked more than just seasonal cheer; friends and family insisted I had to share them with the world. I\u2019ve been baking custom gourmet cookies ever since! Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Taheim J. Hayward <\/p>\n

Hi VoyageRaleigh magazine family and friends and welcome to the world of TAHJ. For those who don\u2019t know me my name is Taheim J. otherwise known as TAHJ. I grew up and was raised mostly in North Carolina but I also grew up in Florida as well . Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Wesley Hoag <\/p>\n

I began Rowdy\u2019s Dippin\u2019\/Rowdy\u2019s Wraps in 2015, as a part-time hobby. I just moved to Florida from New York State for a fresh start, and went through a bit of a homeless phase of my life at the time I started the company. Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Romey Mak <\/p>\n

First off, its great to be back with Voyage MIA once again to tell the story of the origin of making content. Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Kim Bomberger <\/p>\n

My path to photography wasn\u2019t exactly a straight line. I entered my 50s single for the first time in many years and had to figure out how to rebuild my life and support myself. It was a decade of enormous change, but also one of possibility. I eventually found work I loved in the nonprofit world and spent about a decade as a communications director. Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Lance LeBrun <\/p>\n

During the Covid pandemic I had an office job that subsequently went to remote working from home. During the pandemic I became overwhelmed with the amount of political divisiveness between friends and family on social media. I randomly made a short video about 3 obscure movies to watch, just to try and get people talking about something else. Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Austin Buchwald <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always had a love for photography. My passion for it really started when I was in middle school, when I took a trip to California with my grandma, Becky. I had a little point-and-shoot camera with me, and I remember being fascinated by the beauty around me and by the process of turning what I was seeing into an image. Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Prithika Chowdhury <\/p>\n

When I was a kid, I always felt I was meant for the camera. It may sound silly, but I looked up to artists and wanted to be like them when I grew up. That was just the kind of dream that most children have. Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Lawain Howell
<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a semi professional soccer player trying to become a full time professional, business executive, professional Internet personality, model &, influencer (soccer, lifestyle & fashion) sponsored by a number of brands. Read more>><\/a><\/p>\n

Tarah Burkhart
<\/p>\n

My story really started long before Glam Repeat. I spent more than 15 years in retail and over a decade working in e-commerce and business development, most recently with Walmart Marketplace. I loved the industry, but after years in the corporate world, I reached a point where I wanted to build something that was mine. Read 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":415518,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-415517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415517","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=415517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}