I am a self-employed / freelance IT Consultant based in the Nashville, TN area. You can learn more about my career at my professional site. I have a Master of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from the University of Phoenix and a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Systems Administration from Southern Adventist University. My interests in computing are varied and numerous. You can visit my personal website, jonSharp.net, for more details. I enjoy hiking, camping, backpacking and the outdoors. I am in the process of becoming an expert on wild edible plants. Some television shows I enjoy include Star Trek: Enterprise, Law & Order and West Wing. I voted for Harry Browne in this past presidential election and anticipate voting libertarian in the future. I enjoy listening to a very wide variety of music, and I play a little guitar. My parents are Walter and Nancy Sharp of Calhoun, Georgia. I have two great younger brothers, Jeremy and Justin.

I am the marketing/public relations coordinator for HealthSpring, a Nashville-based health insurance company. In my free time, I love reading great literature, cooking, hiking, camping, backpacking, scrapbooking and socializing. I graduated in May 2002 from Southern Adventist University with a BA in journalism and minors in English and music. I've played the flute since fourth grade and, now that I no longer have Southern's orchestra to keep me on my toes, I try to bring my flute out and play every so often. I enjoy listening to a wide variety of music, from classical and jazz to alternative and a little classic rock, contemporary Christian and (as appropriate to our new hometown) even a bit of country. National Public Radio and West Wing are also among my life's great pleasures. I love Italian food and dislike avocadoes and raw onion. I get pretty passionate about religious and civil liberty issues. I'm definitely a dog person. My parents are Mike and Sharon Harrell of Port Charlotte, Florida, and I have a wonderful younger brother, Ryan, who is attending Southern.

We joke about not remembering how we first met. Jolene came to Georgia-Cumberland Academy -- where Jon was already attending -- her junior year of high school. Our first memories of each other are sitting together in the back of chemistry class, along with a couple other friends. Jon will never let Jolene forget that he slept through most of those classes and still made a better chemistry grade than she did after hours of studying! That class was the beginning of a friendship that slowly grew into a romance. We became an official couple on October 5, 1997, while visiting Southern's campus for college days.

Jon asked me to hike up Mount LeConte, just outside of Gatlinburg, the weekend of our four-year anniversary. He had asked me to go the weekend before but it hadn't worked out, so I didn't really think anything out of the ordinary was happening. LeConte is the third tallest peak east of the Mississippi and a pretty serious hike.

About halfway through our drive to LeConte, my cell phone rang and Jon's best friend David Benton asked if he and Heather Thielen could join us. We began amid a drizzling rain and thick cloud cover. All through the hike clouds obscured the view, but after three hours, we reached Myrtle Point at the top to find an incredible 360-degree view of the Smoky Mountains. Huge banks of clouds spread out below the peak, and more clouds rushed up and over the peaks of other mountains in the range. The sky was a crystal-clear blue. The temperature was 31 degrees and very windy, so Jon made hot chocolate on his camp stove and rubbed my feet. David had worn shorts, so he asked Heather to run a little ways with him so he could get warm.

Jon brought me out the edge of the peak, and we sat on a rock and watched the sun begin its descent. The sky turned bright oranges and pinks and the edges of the clouds began to glow. I was watching the sky and thinking, "There is never going to be a more romantic spot than this, and he's not going to propose." Just then, Jon turned to me and said, "You know, I've been thinking. I think we go really well together"-- the very words he'd used to ask me out four years before -- and then he got down on one knee, opened a ring box, and asked, "Will you marry me?" I screamed, put the ring on my finger, finally remembered to say "Yes!" and promptly began to cry.

We huddled together and watched the sun grow to a huge orange ball and sink behind the clouds as Jon said a prayer. Then we went to find David and Heather, who had been waiting anxiously around the corner, fending off any other hikers. After a lot of hugs and congratulations, the three-hour hike back down the mountain in the dark began. Jon had been up LeConte six times, and he said he had never seen such an incredible view from the top. The day couldn't have been more perfect!

We were married on Sunday, June 23, 2002, in Jolene's home church in Port Charlotte, Florida. The weekend began on Thursday, when Jon and family from both sides began arriving in town. The rehearsal dinner on Saturday was wonderful, and we were even greeted by a rainbow as we headed to the church to practice!

Both of us had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the excitement on Sunday morning before arriving at the church to finish dressing and begin portraits with the photographer. The moment when Jon first walked into the sanctuary and saw Jolene was especially emotional. After pictures were finished, the flute and cello music started and the ceremony began. We estimate that over 300 friends and family came to share our day! Jon's grandfather gave a beautiful homily, and we were officially married by 7:15. We greeted and dismissed our guests and then walked through a shower of rose petals to the '38 Cadillac La Salle waiting to take us to the reception at the Heritage Oak Park Lodge across town.

After a few pictures in the courtyard at the lodge, the wedding party and newlyweds were introduced and the reception began. We had all the traditional reception moments, and then it was time to leave for the honeymoon. Frank Cohen, our emcee and very dear friend, read Dr. Seuss' Oh, the Places You'll Go, and we drove off in Jolene's Neon, dragging plastic bottles and trying to find room amid all the balloons inside!

Our wedding day was the happiest of our lives, and it was successful because of the hard work of many talented people, and because of the love of so many family and friends.

Tennyson was born on August 29, 2003, and came home with us 6 weeks later, on October 11. He is a red-and-white beagle from BeaglesBay Kennel in Acworth, Georgia. Tennyson is very sweet, affectionate, smart, curious, and playful.

We are both dog lovers. Our interest in beagles began when we admired Porthos on Star Trek: Enterprise and read about the sweet temperament of the breed. We found BeaglesBay Kennel on the Internet and were impressed with what we read. Once we moved to Nashville and settled into our new (pet-friendly) apartment, we paid our deposit to the kennel and got our names on the puppy waiting list.

We fell in love with Tennyson the moment we met him. He brings a whole new dimension to our lives, and we're so happy to share our home with him. Our thanks to BeaglesBay Kennel for bringing us our boy. If you'd like to see more pictures of Tennyson, he has his own gallery, and there are plenty more pictures of him throughout other galleries, too.

JonandJolene.com began before our wedding as a way for out-of-town guests to get information and to feel more involved in the planning. Now that we're married and building a life together, our website has developed into something more. We've uploaded pictures of our camping trips, apartments and holiday celebrations. We've shared major events in our lives on our news page, and we've poured over every word of the messages many of you have left in our guestbook.

As time passes, we hope this website will continue to evolve and reflect the exciting twists and turns our journey takes. But our greatest hope is that this website will be one more way we can stay connected to our loved ones -- the friends and family that we may not get to see as often as we'd like. This website is for you. We hope it gives you a glimpse into our lives and lets you know that even though miles separate us, we still want you to be a part of our lives.

We brought Sami home with us on October 16, 2004. She is a gorgeous, tri-color beagle from BeaglesBay Kennel. She was born December 7, 1997. Sami (a.k.a. Jesslyn's Flame in the Nite) had an accomplished career as a conformation show dog, and she is the mother or grandmother of several of the kennel's current show dogs. BeaglesBay retired Sami from breeding and show business this year, and she was listed on their website as free to a good home. We fell in love, and after great deliberation, decided she would be a perfect fit for us.

Sami has an especially sweet and friendly personality. She's very playful and happy, and she makes instant two-legged and four-legged friends wherever she goes. She and Tennyson have become great buddies, and their antics provide us with constant entertainment. We once again owe our thanks to David and Vicki Phillips of BeaglesBay. There are lots more pictures of Sami throughout our galleries.