Jeanne Silvestrini grew up in a small town in southern Illinois from 1975 – 1984. While, she didn’t live on a farm, many of her friends did. She lived vicariously through those friends, however her first encounter with a calf on a milk farm wasn’t all cuddly like she had hoped. Once the calf saw the bottle it charged her, Silvestrini dropped the bottle, ran and ended up on the ground.
Living in a small town had it perks — you could be outside and ride your bike for hours on end. But what is also very funny about the small town life is everyone knows who you are. It was kind of like social media before social media!!! So, she did her best to stay out of trouble. Her best friend lived two doors down from her and 50 years later they are still best friends.
Silvestrini started her career with WUSM as the first conference coordinator at EPNEC in 1996. Her professional background is hospitality management. Prior to EPNEC, she worked in Convention Services at the Adam’s Mark Hotel (now Hyatt Regency) downtown St. Louis. While there, she was lucky enough to also assist with the front desk with checking in MLB and NHL teams. There are many stories, but her favorites are meeting Wayne Gretzky and working during the VP Fair which used to be held on the Arch grounds. Some of the readers here probably will not know who this is, but some will. She was in the elevator with The Village People who did a little a cappella of YMCA just for her. And, yes… they were in costume!
When she’s not working, Silvestrini enjoys spending time with her family and dogs; Piper (labradoodle), Millie (Golden Retriever) and Tug (Corgi). She’s really looking forward to warmer temperatures, spring gardening and Cardinals baseball. She also loves attending concerts and playing her piano.