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 Swerling
I was born in the Bronx, NY. When I was 11 years old , my family moved to Bloomfield and then Belleville,New Jersey. I graduated high school in 1964 and enrolled at Clemson University. Read more>>
Twana McRae
My fitness journey began in 2018 when I made a personal decision to take control of my health and prioritize wellness in my own life. As I began to see changes not only physically but mentally and emotionally, I developed a passion for encouraging others to experience that same motivation, confidence, and strength. MOVE with Coach T Fitness officially launched on Oct. 4, 2020. Read more>>
Michelle Stevens
I love working with children. I always have. Im the oldest of four. I am passionate about children, their safety, their education and upbringing in general. My background in business management, combined with years of hands-on childcare experience and ongoing education in child development, has shaped my agency model focused on exceptional standards, careful screening, and highly personalized placements. Read more>>
Julia Drayton-Crumblin
My journey really started with being a mother and recognizing a gap. It was not just in childcare availability, but in the kind of care and support families actually need. I didn’t set out thinking I was going to start a business. I was trying to solve a real problem in real time. Not only for my own children and for other families around me. Read more>>
Katie Morse
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For years, I struggled with persistent skin issues—acne, perioral dermatitis—you name it. I tried everything: 13-step skincare routines, prescription retinols, facials, harsh treatments. While I managed to keep my skin somewhat under control, I ultimately damaged my skin barrier with all the aggressive products I was using. By the summer of 2024, my acne was the worst it had been in years. Read more>>
John Roberts
I’ve always had a fascination for tearing things apart and learning how they work as a kid I would take part radio it’s electronics and figure out what internals they had and how they were and then try to put them back together often unsuccessfully lol fast-forward to graduating from high school I didn’t feel like I was ready for college so I decided I was gonna go to the military and was placed into a job in an electronic communication role I received a certification from GTE to replace components circuitry in troubleshoot, communication systems, Read more>>
Alton Moseley
My journey started in college, during a time when no one would give me a chance or even consider me for a job. So I decided if no one would hire me, I’d hire myself. After hours, days, and months of watching motivational videos, showing up at networking events, and learning everything I could, I realized something powerful: I could build my own path. Read more>>
Gennea Watts-Scott
My name is Gennea Watts-Scott, and my story is deeply rooted in service, compassion, and lived experience. Long before I became a business owner and visionary leader, I was doing the work hands-on, up close, and in many different settings that shaped who I am today. Read more>>
Anne Stewart
Some homes seem to hold their breath until the right people arrive. For us, that place was an 1895 Queen Anne in the heart of Saluda. NC — a house that has been welcoming guests since 1906 and feels as alive today as it did more than a century ago. Our path to Saluda has been anything but ordinary. Read more>>
Beth Black White
I am a fourth generation peach farmer. My family has farmed this land since the 1700’s and we have been growing peaches since 1923. My father, Arthur Black, is still the soul of our business. He opened our roadside market in 1975. That was during the recession when farming took a terrible hit and we had to pivot from wholesale to retail if we wanted to continue. Read more>>
Amber Simons
When my daughter was born 8.5 years ago, I knew that education would be unconventional for us. I had been diving into alternative learning styles such as Montessori before her birth, and expanded my horizons once she was earth-side. Montessori ended up not being the ideal fit for us, as it was too boxed in, and too indoors. We needed something a bit more zoomed out. Read more>>
Amanda Owens
Prior to discovering my path as a massage therapist, I had solely worked in the restaurant industry with most of my experience coming from growing up in my family’s fast food franchise. Beginning at a young age, I would sample nuggets in the middle of the mall, the place where I would unknowingly meet my future husband for the first time at 12 years old. Read more>>
Vincent Sanders
My name is Vincent Sanders. I was born and raised in Orangeburg, SC. I completed in high school at Orangeburg-Wilkinson in 2013 and also graduated from Claflin University with a degree in Communications in 2017. I began as an elementary school teacher through the Teach for America program before transitioning to the field of public health as a prevention specialist. Read more>>
Courtney Vaughan Johnson
I actually grew up around photography. My dad was a photographer for schools and weddings, so it was always part of my world from a young age. I used to love when we would develop prints in the dark room. I didn’t initially set out to follow that exact path though. Read more>>
Suzanne Miller
I’ve always loved writing- even though my Ph.D. is in Economics, I knew that I would use my training to communicate beyond the walls of academia. When my eldest child was born, I stayed home but continued to write. At one point, I was a community columnist for The State, where I wrote about local and state-level issues from an economist’s perspective. Read more>>
Alexis Alexandria Fussell
I started baking when I was just four years old with an Easy-Bake Oven. My mom went on a whole hunt to find for me that Christmas. She always said I made the best little cakes, and honestly, I never stopped. Baking has been a part of me ever since. Read more>>
Liz Carnagey
Carl and I started our careers in Oregon, where we built and operated businesses together. That’s actually where I was first introduced to bookkeeping — not from textbooks, but inside a real, growing company. Carl brought in CPAs, CFOs, and seasoned bookkeepers to teach me how to do things the right way. Read more>>
Jake Watson
I love golf. When I started hearing about indoor golf simulators, I got very interested. A few of the businesses started opening around town and I decided I wanted to be involved. I researched and made plans to open a friendly, laid back club that caters to the casual golfer as well as the low handicap players who want access to the technology. Read more>>
Jackie Gaither
Growing up with a brother with special needs made me realize the true need for passionate, honest, and caring individuals in the field of Special Education. I knew I wanted to work with children, so after obtaining a Bachelor’s degree from the College of Charleston, I pursued a graduate degree in School Psychology from The Citadel and became a school psychologist. Read more>>
Patti O’Furniture
Patti O’Furniture was born out of a dare from the students of college professor Pat Patterson in the fall of 1999 and has followed a very non-traditional path into female impersonation ever since. Read more>>
Colleen LeBleu
Hi there! I’m Colleen LeBleu—theatre lover, performer, teacher, costumer, mother, and passionate dream-chaser. That’s me in a nutshell! I’ll never forget my grandpa asking me as a kid, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up? Close your eyes and envision it.’ Even today, when I close my eyes, I see the same thing: the stage, the lights, the audience, and the music. Read more>>
Sara McAda
I was first introduced to senior care in 2011 when I completed a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program through my high school’s career center. That experience sparked a deep appreciation for the compassion and dedication required to serve older adults, and it ultimately shaped my career path. Read more>>
Christine Le Clair
Our story is built on over 50 years of combined experience in camping and recreational management. What started as a shared professional journey has evolved into a passion project: Vintage View Adventures, a business designed to redefine outdoor hospitality by blending luxury with the natural beauty of the Pacolet River. Read more>>
Daniel Benoit
The Journey of Daniel J. Benoit Long before the cameras, before the field teams, before the books found their way into readers’ hands… there was just a boy and the woods. The forests of Virginia weren’t just a backdrop to Daniel J. Benoit’s childhood—they were a living, breathing classroom. Time spent outdoors, often alongside his father, planted something deeper than a love for nature. Read more>>
Melissa Brewer Bartley
Our family business began in 1989 when my father, Ansel Brewer, founded Greenwood Financial Services, Inc., building on his earlier venture, Brewer Enterprises car lot, which he opened the year before for our brother David to operate. Read more>>
Heather Schlabach
BNB Breeze is a sibling owned short term rental (STR) management company. My older brother, Landon, started BNB Breeze on his own back in 2018. I bough into the company a few short years later and together we built the management company we needed. As real estate investors ourselves, we had a good idea of what we wanted the company to entail. Read more>>
Merrell Johnson
Education has always been a cornerstone for me and my family. My mother dedicated her career to early childhood education, and my sister has served in secondary education—so pouring into young minds is truly part of who we are. Because of that foundation, I’ve remained closely connected to organizations that promote literacy and academic success. Read more>>
Jeremy Franklin
I’ve always been drawn to moments of transition and the in-between spaces of life. I saw how disorienting those seasons can be, even in my own life, especially when faith, identity, leadership, and family structures were all shifting at once. Read more>>
Nicole Wilson
Brothers, Teddy and Heyward Clamp had a dream to share their love of reptiles with the world and educate on their importance of being present. They designed and built the park here and opened in 1999. Since then we have been open to the public offering educational programs in the park as well as attending many events to educate on reptiles. Read more>>
Rosi Ullerich
I am Real Estate Broker specializing in property management. Out of high school, I graduated a year early at 17, skipped college, and went right to work. At the age of 21 I left my corporate job in Seattle for the most important work of all, being a mom (and step-mom). Read more>>
Samuel Johnson
I began my career in appliance repair in 2013. Early on, I was mentored by a close friend who owned a successful appliance repair company, and that experience gave me a strong foundation in both the technical side of the work and what it takes to run a business. A few years later, I took a leap and started my own company, Guardian Appliance Repair. Read more>>
Alison Brigham
My journey into the vacation rental industry began when my husband and I purchased a lakefront property with the intention of using short-term rentals to help offset the mortgage. What started as a practical financial decision quickly turned into something much more meaningful. Read more>>
Alison Hughey
Music has always been a source of joy and connection in my life. My extended family would often sing together at gatherings, and my ‘Grandmama’ often made up her own songs for fun. As I get older, it became a refuge from anxiety. I played favorite songs and albums on repeat, often swinging on the front porch to the beat. Read more>>
Eden Alon
There are many ways I could answer this question. I could talk about my childhood, my time in high school, my obsession with dragons or Indiana Jones, and the struggles I went through in college. All of my decisions have led me to this point in my life. Read more>>
Susie Pennington
I started dancing at the age of five and quickly fell in love with it. Dance became such a big part of my life that I continued training and eventually began teaching at my local studio. From a young age, I knew my dream was to one day own my own studio. In 1989, I took that leap and made that dream a reality. Read more>>
Courtney Thomas
My journey didn’t start in entrepreneurship. However, it started in service. I earned my bachelor’s in social work and later my master’s in counseling because I’ve always had a heart for helping people. Read more>>
Deezy Hendo
My story really started with a passion for music and self-expression. Early on, I was just creating music as a way to express what I was going through and the lifestyle I was living. It was something that came naturally to me, and over time, I realized it was more than just a hobby—it was something I wanted to take seriously. Read more>>
Will & Emily Rowe
The obstacles to starting many businesses are attendance and, in the beginning, getting the word out. As we grew, we faced space constraints and became too crowded. Attendance than ebbed and flowed, as we navigated Class Pass finding our groove with weekly classes and events in our studio space. Once we moved to Canada, we left behind weekly classes and our own studio space to partner with other businesses and practitioners to form an aligned community and collective. Read more>>
Robert Stanfield
There, I studied visual arts, illustration, historic preservation, interior design, graphic design, sculpture and painting―all of it expanding my creative vision of what art can be. During my time in Savannah, I also worked on major film productions, like “Glory” and “1969,” that explored storytelling through motion, light, and composition. All of these skills have influenced the way I approach mixed media painting and visual narrative. Read more>>
