Tech entrepreneur inspired by patriotism, community activism, grandma

A vivid sense of patriotism, successful community activism, and a lifelong drive to be in business are behind Andrea Torkelson's commitment to her new political app, VoterBuzz, which hit iTunes for iPhones Thursday and will be available for Androids next week.

Torkelson (pictured at left touting VoterBuzz at the CampaignTech Conference in Washington, D.C., this week) served in the military for six years as an Army Reservist and was a pharmacy specialist with the 73rd Field Hospital in St. Petersburg.

In 2007, she led a successful fight against a proposed 150-foot high, 137-acre wide landfill -- which Torkelson dubbed "Trash Mountain" -- by going door-to-door to inform her north Manatee neighbors.

And Torkelson's first interest in entrepreneurship emerged when she was a young child, playing "store" with her grandmother, Frances Cardinale, by "driving" her on the back of the family's stationary bicycle and then "selling" her grandmother items from the family pantry.

Cardinale is among the investors in Torkelson's new company, VoterBuzz Inc., which created what Torkelson is calling the "nation's very first social networking app geared specifically toward politics." Click here to find VoterBuzz on iTunes' App Store, and be sure and check out Saturday's Bradenton Herald to learn more about the app and Torkelson.