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.
Jack Alterman
I was born in Charleston, SC and grew up there in the 1950s. After graduating from high school I went on to the University of South Carolina. In my sophomore year I took a photography course with Professor Jack McGrail. He taught the basics of photography & darkroom techniques and had a keen eye for detail. For our final assignment we were to submit a photo essay of black and white prints on a topic of our choice. Read more>>
Lena Hopkins
From marketing to building clientele there is never enough hours in the day for a solo esthetician. My greatest hurdle by far has been navigating the world of Social Media. Not having very much experience in the past with creating and editing content has its own challenges. Taking myself out of my comfort zone to do so has been a great confidence builder these fast few months. Read more>>
Mike Alexander
My journey started on the football field. I played fullback and had the opportunity to attend rookie camp with the Baltimore Ravens, which taught me a lot about discipline, teamwork, and resilience. After football, I transitioned into strength and conditioning, gaining valuable experience training under Clemson University’s Head Football Strength and Conditioning Coach, Joey Batson. Read more>>
Alex Russell
I grew up in the suburbs of Virginia near Richmond. I started my farming journey in 2016 at Polyface Farms in Virginia. After 3 years there, my wife and I were ready to start our own farm. We chose to move to South Carolina to start a Regenerative Farm. We ended up settling in McClellanville and have been here for 6 years now. Read more>>
Nicole Hart
Originally from Asheville, NC, Nicole has spent her adult life in California and Massachusetts. She moved to Pawleys Island in 2021 with her husband, Tom, and two dogs and serves as the Chairwoman of Women United | Blackriver United Way, a board member of Good Friends of Georgetown County, a member of PILBA, and a contributing friend to ALL4Paws. Read more>>
Brittany Kelley
Hi, I’m Brittany. I’m a teacher, a wife, a mother, and a coach—both in person and online. I own Fosterign Faith & Fitness. But more than anything, I am a daughter of the King. A child of the King in Heaven. Fostering Faith and Fitness began a little over six years ago, and it didn’t start as a business idea at all. Read more>>
Lilia Blackstone
I am 9 years old and I started making organic goat milk soaps a few years ago for Christmas gifts. When people really liked my soap and asked for more my mom helped me set up a website and I started getting orders from all over the United States. Read more>>
Ramon Nieves
I started very young. When I was 14 years old, I decided to go to art school in Venezuela, where I was born and raised. I’ve always loved drawing and painting, so from an early age I knew I wanted to do something related to art. Read more>>
Maddie Lowe
The Doting Goat started in 2023, when I had an unexpected opportunity to combine two of my greatest life passions: animals and people. But to understand the full story, we must go back to where it really began. I am currently a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and have built my career around helping children, teens, adults, and families. Read more>>
Wendie Willis
My artistic journey began over 20 years ago with restoring antique and retro furniture, breathing new life into forgotten pieces with paint, stain, and creativity. What started as a passion project for my own home grew into selling furniture, reupholstering, and creating custom décor. Along the way, I fell in love with interior decorating and design, immersing myself in learning color theory, layout, and texture. Read more>>
Stacey Redden
For 20 years, I dedicated my career to the veterinary field, working my way up from kennel attendant to managing a large practice. While incredibly rewarding, balancing the demands of managing a busy clinic with caring for my own family became increasingly challenging. Read more>>
Leigh Sauvageau
It’s a long and strange journey, but one that has aligned exactly as it’s meant to. I grew up with an intense fascination of the paranormal fueled by an interest in American history. As a kid, I’d rather spend weekends touring Civil War- era mansions and cemeteries than playing with friends or going to the mall. Read more>>
Senetra & Jackie Harris
We’re Jackie and Senetra Harris, founders of Together Worx Marriage Coaching. Married for 29+ years, we know firsthand that marriage isn’t always easy. We got married young—with no premarital training and very little understanding of what marriage would truly require. Life quickly taught us through the hard knocks: two military careers, raising children, constant stress, and the painful reality of conflict and poor communication. Read more>>
Tina Clarke
Hi, I’m Tina Clarke, a Reiki Therapist and Intuitive Energy Healer. I help sensitive souls release stress, reconnect with their inner wisdom, and heal deeply, mind, body, and spirit. My sessions blend traditional Reiki with intuitive guidance, shamanic energy medicine, and spiritual insight to support lasting transformation. Whether you’re seeking peace, clarity, or energetic alignment, I’m here to hold sacred space for your healing journey. Read more>>
Aaron ‘Semone’ Sims
My story did not start with a business plan or a vision board. It started with survival. I built my career in healthcare as a cardiovascular sonographer, a role that required precision, compassion, and endurance. For years, I was the dependable one. I was the wife, the mother, the strong one. Read more>>
Talacia Cain
I grew up poor in Charlotte, raised by my grandparents and great-grandmother. From an early age, I felt displaced. My last name was different from everyone I lived with, and I never truly felt like I belonged. Read more>>
Victoria Ansell
I was born and raised in Charleston. Moving through school I really struggled with the idea of my ‘vocation.’ I wanted a job that made a positive impact on my community and knew I wanted to help people. I studied at College of Charleston in a pre med program for my first year and was quickly disenchanted with the Western medical model. Read more>>
Derek Gibson
Well, it was my parents who actually started the business in 1992. My mother worked as a floral designer for another florist for many years until she made the decision to go in business for herself. My siblings and I have also worked for the business since we were kids. We operate as a family business and we’ve been successful for over 33 years. Read more>>
Quynh Tran
I began my career in the beauty industry over a decade ago as a nail technician, working hands-on behind the table and learning everything I could about the craft. What started as a service-based job slowly became a passion for building something more meaningful—spaces where both clients and professionals could feel supported, calm, and inspired. Read more>>
Gilbert Tam
I had first learned about the physical therapy profession in 2012, when I sat in on a presentation by a PT working with someone with Parkinson’s Disease. They were demonstrating alternate treatment interventions, at the time, for people with Parkinson’s, and one of those was boxing. It was the sound of the focus mitts that intrigued me, because it was a familiar sound. Read more>>
Dusti McCraw
When Connor McCraw was born in the fall of 1992, his father, Alan, and uncle, Art, had owned and operated Burdette Hardware for several years. With one location in downtown Simpsonville, and a newly opened second location in Fountain Inn, Connor found himself riding along to check in at the stores on his way to preschool. Read more>>
Mary DuBose Stewart
My path to becoming a counselor was deeply personal and far from linear. I began my own healing journey at 24, immersing myself fully in therapy and personal development. Through that process, I encountered extraordinary mentors, clinicians, and healers who not only supported my growth, but awakened something in me—a calling to one day offer that same depth of care to others. Read more>>
bianca greer
I have worked with animals professionally for as long as I can remember, well before 18 years old. Before starting Twin Farms, I groomed dogs for about a decade and while I loved it, it was time for something new. Read more>>
Todd Sevier
Todd founded Otter Mortgage Team because he wanted to bring joy to the mortgage process. An industry that is all numbers and rates and stress and fear, Todd believed there is room to do something different…to do something better. And hopefully, to help his clients bring joy home along the way. Read more>>
Damian Mingle
I didn’t start out with a master plan. My career has unfolded through curiosity, pattern-seeking, and a long interest in how people make decisions inside complex systems. For many years, my work lived at the intersection of technology, data, and human judgment. Read more>>
Myisha Bannister
My path into calibration wasn’t accidental — it was built through years of working in high-pressure, precision-driven environments where performance, communication, and systems thinking mattered every single day. Read more>>
RJ Adolfi
A nationally recognized Dental and Healthcare Operations and Expert. Growth & Scalability Consultant with decades of experience building, operating, and scaling healthcare platforms across the United States. He has been instrumental in the development of some of the country’s earliest and most successful dental “super practices,” Aspen Dental, helping define models centered on accessible, convenient, and affordable care while maintaining operational discipline and profitability. R.J. Read more>>
Laurie Carroll
My love for fitness originated in my childhood, when I would attend group fitness classes with my mom, who taught aerobics. In my teens and early adulthood, like a lot of women, I struggled with body image and tried crash diets, pills and even starving myself. Read more>>
Gary Matthews
In 2012, a few of us took to the lake and water skied in front of the plungers. We showed off not realizing it was a fundraiser for children’s charities of the midlands. The next year I invited more people over for brunch and we passed the bucket around. We raised $1100 and about 8 of us did the plunge. Read more>>
Joseph Maresh
I started with nothing but a vision and a relentless drive to build something bold, unapologetic, and real. Growing up in Cleveland and now operating out of Charleston, I’ve always had a hunger to create — not just art, but identity. Freakshow Apparel wasn’t born in a boardroom; it came to life in the grind, in late nights sketching slogans, remixing graphics, and pushing boundaries. Read more>>
Brenda Dozier Perkins
Brenda Dozier Perkins, A Certified Community Health Worker. I started this organization because of my own family struggle. My dad was diagnosed with congestion heart failure back in 1990. He was employed by Georgetown steel. He was the provider of a family with a wife and six children,now he had to come out of work on disability with no health insurance. Read more>>
Jessica Daily
I started photography as a shy 7th grader on my school’s yearbook staff, hoping it would help me come out of my shell. In 9th grade, I tried an SLR camera for the first time—and I was hooked. I chased that passion everywhere, attending every sports game I could, capturing moments that spoke to me. Read more>>
Janneth Armstrong
I started doing massage therapy when I was living in Arizona in 2009. I moved to South Carolina in 2010 for family purpose. and also moved my LLC at the same time. Read more>>
Maggie Waldrop
My story isn’t your typical photography story, I don’t recall having a camera in my hand when I was young or a burning desire to be a business owner. In a way, photography chose me. I ran a small retail booth with a relative who is a wedding photographer. We worked well together and she saw that I was reliable, teachable and a trustworthy partner. Read more>>
DOUG GIESLER
I have a fairly diverse background, quite interesting in itself. I ‘grew up’ in the cell phone industry. Launched New York City with Omnipoint Communications, with 4 cell towers…that company is now T-Mobile. I helped build out the tri-state area, then DC – Baltimore, and then we parted ways. It was an amazing experience! Read more>>
Keonte Jenkins-Davis
My story really started in Charleston County, in the Town of Hollywood. Growing up, I liked to joke that I was destined to be great because I grew up in Hollywood. While that usually gets a laugh, it’s actually true in many ways. That town shaped me. It taught me how much place, access, and community matter, especially when resources are limited. Read more>>
Adam Jones
I grew up competitively dancing in a studio in Massachusetts. So I have been a part of this community since I was 6 years old. After furthering my dance education at SUNY Purchase in NY, I went on to have a professional career that included cruise ships, theme parks, concert performance companies, and dancing with multiple recording artists. Read more>>
Rotoshia Wakefield
I started out selling plates from home. I would create a menu for each day for lunch and promote it on Facebook and through people I knew. After doing that for a year I was able to partner with a club owner and I took on the kitchen. That helped me put my business out there. Read more>>
