Wedding Party


Alisha and Joe Alisha Little and Joe Lion will have been dating for five years this December. They met when Alisha was a freshman and Joe was a sophomore at NC State, both of them on the cross country and track teams. Alisha transferred to Appalachian State in Boone, NC, Joe's home town, after 1.5 years at NCSU. They continued to date, and after 4 years of being together, Joe proposed to Alisha on Christmas Eve, 2003, at her parents' house in Drexel. They have spent the past 9 months planning their October wedding together.
Alisha Little Alisha was born in Sylva, in western NC, and grew up with her parents, Quez and Debbie, and younger brother, Greg, in Drexel, NC. She was a girl scout, active in her church, and a junior olympic swimmer as a girl. At East Burke High School, Alisha won five NC State Championships in cross country and track, and ran on scholarship at NC State, and later at Appalachian State. She graduated ASU with a B.S. degree in Elementary Education, with a concentration in History. At ASU she started bicycling, and has been riding on a professional cycling team for the past year.	Joe Lion Joe was born in Lancaster, California, but moved to Blowing Rock, NC with his mother, Cathy, and brother, Todd, as a young child. He grew up in Blowing Rock and was active in sports, church, and Boy Scouts as a boy. Joe earned his Eagle Scout as a sophomore in High School, and later became an NC State Champion and All-American runner for Watauga High School. He attended NC State, where he ran for 2.5 years, and graduated with B.S. degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and earned his Master of Business Administration in 2003. He recently took a new job in Cary, NC, as a computer memory chip engineer.
Quez & Debbie Little Alisha is the daughter of Quez and Debbie Little, both of Drexel, NC. Alisha grew up with her parents and younger brother in Morganton and Drexel, NC. Debbie is a registered nurse, childbirth educator, and certified doula at Blue Ridge Health Care. She is known for her unique ability to create beautiful scrapbooks and cards and also runs her own stamp and scrapbook business with Close to My Heart. Quez is an executive at Hickory Hill Furniture in Valdese, and he is also an avid runner. You can catch him running through downtown Valdese during his lunch breaks everyday.	Steve Lion, Cathy Lion Joe is the oldest son of Cathy Gray Lion of DeFuniak Springs, FL, and Steve Lion of Lancaster, CA. Joe lived with his mother and brother in Blowing Rock, NC, until Cathy lost a battle with cancer and died in 1996, Joe's sophomore year in high school. Steve moved into their house and lived with Joe and Todd through the end of high school. He remains there with his new wife, Cristina. Steve married Cristina Bonilla in the summer of 2003, and she was able to move the mountains of NC in the Spring of 2004.

Kristen Keller Kristen and Alisha grew up together in the same church family at Calvary Lutheran in Morganton, NC. Although they never attended the same school, Alisha and Kristen continued to share a close friendship. They were on the swim team together and became roommates during college until Alisha transferred to ASU. Recently, Alisha was the maid of honor in Kristen's wedding. Kristen is married to Shawn Keller, who is in the US Army.	Todd Lion Todd is Joe's younger brother. They grew up together in Blowing Rock, and Todd joined Joe at NC State where they were roommates for 4 years. Todd graduated from NCSU in 2003 and is now a second year Master's Student in Aerospace Engineering. He will be accompanied by Rebecca Isrealnaim, also a Master's Student in Aerospace Engineering.

Deb Elliott Deb Elliott is a cyclist from Hickory, NC. She runs her own elite women's cycling team, Team DeFeet. Alisha met Deb last year at some of the local bike races, and they quickly became friends. What began as regular email correspondence has blossomed into a very dear friendship. Alisha and Deb meet to ride and visit regularly when Alisha's home from racing. Deb Elliott is married to Bryan Elliott, also a cyclist.	Jason Carter Jason grew up in Blowing Rock with Joe and Todd and they all have remained close friends throughout elementary school, high school, and college. The three of them ran cross country together in High School and were roommates for a year in college. Jason is in his last semester at NC State in Environmental Engineering. His date, Liz Jackson, is a junior at NC State on the cross country team.
Leah Zullig Leah Zullig graduated from ASU and completed her graduate work at East Tennessee University. While at ASU, Alisha met Leah from the university cross country team. They immediately started hanging out after practice talking and discovered they both shared a love for crafty things. Many afternoons and weekends were spent tackling craft projects together, whether it be painting pottery or a sewing lesson. Leah is engaged to Daniel Conner who she met while at East Tennessee.	Britt Marlowe Britt and Joe became good friends in early high school where they ran cross country and track together, and were co-captains of the team their senior year. Britt graduated last year from the University of Chapel Hill with a degree in Religious Studies. He has spent the last year in Taiwan teaching English to Taiwanese children, and is now back in Boone until he goes back to graduate school next year. Britt will be joined by Emily Lancaster, a fellow Carolina graduate who has also returned from Taiwan and is now studying homeopathic healing.
Catherine Lafferty Catherine Lafferty attends the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Alisha and Catherine became very dear friends during high school. Catherine was always there for Alisha when she needed it most, and her bright and positive attitude reflects in every person she meets. Alisha and Catherine swam together on the high school swim team and found time to run or lift weights together after school. Catherine studied abroad in Chile.	Graig Cooper Graig and Joe met in 7th grade on the Junior Varsity wrestling team at Watauga High School. They remained good friends though high school, where Graig was an All-American wrestler. Graig graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point last year, where he was the Captain of the Army Wrestling Team. He recently returned from a year long intelligence mission in Afghanistan, and is now stationed in Anchorage, Alaska.
Sarah Lange Sarah grew up with Alisha, along with Kristen and Valerie, at Calvary Lutheran Church in Morganton, NC. They attended the same high school, East Burke. Sarah attends the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Alisha attended lots of slumber parties at Sarah's house while she was growing up. Sarah always has a smile on her face and she is willing to lend a helping hand anytime she is asked!	Ryan Woods Ryan is a year older than Joe and was an All-State runner at Watauga HS. Joe and Ryan were roommates for 3 years at NC State, where they ran together on the NCSU cross country and track teams. Ryan graduated from NC State with a degree in Zoology. He has spent the past two years living in Palo Alto, California, running on the Nike Farm Team at Stanford University.
Valerie Giese Valerie Giese grew up with Alisha, along with Kristen and Sarah, at Calvary Lutheran Church in Morganton, NC. Valerie also attended East Burke High School. Alisha and Valerie found many ways to get into trouble when they were younger... they were infamous for discovering new ways to "frame" Alisha's younger brother, Greg, for their mischief. Valerie now attends the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She always has the coolest hairstyles and is one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet!	Greg Little Greg is Alisha's younger brother, and is now a senior at East Burke High School. He has run on the East Burke track teams, enjoys snowboarding, and plays guitar in a garage band with his classmates. He will be accompanied by Miranda Harper, a sophomore at East Burke.
John Propst Pastor John Propst and his wife Liz , recently retired from Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church and moved to Lutheridge in Arden. They are members at Nativity Lutheran Church where Pastor John is the Youth Minister. Pastor John also leads many retreats for Lutheridge and is active with TEC (Teens Encounter Christ Retreats) where Alisha met and served with him many years ago. After she and Joe were engaged they met several times with Pastor John for Spiritual guidance and preparation for their upcoming marriage. We are blessed to have him as our dear friend and to marry us today. Mike Riley Mike Riley is the pastor at Calvary Lutheran Church in Morganton, NC where Alisha is a member. He is married to Betty Riley. Pastor Mike recently went on a missionary trip to El Salvador and hopes to return there again. Pastor Riley will be reading a Special Blessing written by Joe's Grandfather, Reverend Charles Gray, a retired Army Chaplin who is unable to attend the ceremony. Pastor Mike will also be reading a scripture for the marriage ceremony. What a joy to have him with us!
Cynthia Lange Cynthia Lange is a dear friend of the Little family from Calvary Lutheran Church. Cynthia is a very talented scrapbooker and card maker. Her peppy attitude and happy smile will surely calm the nerves of all during the wedding ceremony. Cynthia is a RN and recently left a position as a school nurse in Burke county and became the health occupation instructor for East Burke High School. With her guidance many students will find the perfect healthcare positron in their future. She and her husband, David have two children, Henry and Sarah.	Joe Shannon Joe Shannon is a local celebrity in the NC High Country. He is the founder of Mountain Home Music, an organization designed to "celebrate diverse styles of Appalachian performing arts." He is a renowned musician and will be playing the dulcimer, a traditional mountain instrument, at the wedding ceremony. Joe was active in the Boone Area arts community with Joe's mother, Cathy.
John Payne Alisha met John Payne at her Maid of Honor, Kristin Wallace's, wedding last summer. She liked the work he did with Kristin's wedding so much, she decided at that point that he would photograph her eventual wedding. He will provide engagement, bridal, and ceremony and reception pictures. You can find his contact information and portfolios at JohnSPayne.com.	Stephanie Rice Stephanie Rice is married to Charlie and they both a good friends of Alisha's family. Stephanie grew up in a family with a florist business. Her love for detail and design, has been her gift to us with all the floral arrangements for our wedding. Stephanie and Charlie have three children (who are also Alisha's parents Godchildren), Kelsey, Alex, and Maya. Thank you Stephanie for making our day as beautiful as you are!
Maya Rice Maya Rice is the daughter of Charlie and Stephanie Rice. Maya is also Alisha's parent's Goddaughter. Maya is in the first grade at Glen Alpine Elementary. She recently lost her two front teeth. Maya likes to draw, stamp, write letters, sing and dance. After explaining to Maya what a "Leaf Girl" would do at the wedding~ she smiled and said "Oh, I can do THAT!" Great job Maya!	Kelsey Rice Kelsey Rice is the daughter of Charlie and Stephanie Rice. Kelsey, also is Alisha's parent's Goddaughter. She is a Senior at Freedom High School in Burke County. Kelsey has participated in Soccer and Volleyball for Freedom and was recently on the Homecoming Court. She is very active in several clubs there as well. After graduation, Kelsey plans to attend NC State and study fashion design and marketing.