Jake-Jack Riley & Alyssa Nienhaus Riley

Jack and Alyssa met during the Summer of 2008. Alyssa was the Lacrosse Specialist and a counselor for the Supers, while Jack was the Baseball Specialist and counselor for the Waiters turned Baseball Director. This was Alyssa’s first summer at Chen-A-Wanda, but Jack started working at Chenny in the Summer of 2006 and was a popular friend and staff member.

They were first introduced by the campfire, and although Alyssa thought Jack was super hot, he also seemed a bit “too cool” to talk to her and they didn’t really hit it off. His attitude quickly changed during the staff bowling night when Alyssa approached Jack and his buddies and asked to join their lane. On the bus ride back to camp that night, Jack insisted that Alyssa sat next to him. Alyssa was so impressed with how Jack listened intently to her stories until Jack abruptly cut her off and said, “Sorry, I really have to pee” before leaving her and running to the front of the bus. The next day, Jack apologized for leaving Alyssa and promised to make it up to her by being her partner for the team building activities for the rest of orientation.

As the summer continued, Jack and Alyssa frequently used their trusted campers to pass love notes to each other and when camp ended that year, they decided to keep their relationship going.

They were married September 18, 2010, surrounded by Chenny love including their wonderful bridal party Chris Evans, Alicia Lantzy (Sciore), Chris Tucker, Paddy Rynne, Libby Hartley (Richmond), Tom White, and Dan Godshall.

They currently live in St. Louis, Missouri with their sweet dog, Kylee. Jack is an elementary PE Teacher and Alyssa is a Child Care Facilities Specialist for the State of Missouri. Summer 2011 was their last summer working at Chenny. Jack and Alyssa both agree that they owe the beautiful life they have built together to Jon, Elissa, and their Chen-A-Wanda family.