Barbara Salerno joined Osco as an in-house temporary employee in August, 1977. It didn’t take long before her excellent skills were recognized and she became a part-time employee in the Recruiting/Human Resources Department. Barbara went to work to “find herself” then found herself working a full-time job in order to be eligible for the company's health insurance plan for her family as her husband, Joe, was self-employed.
For over 17 years Barbara’s career encompassed positions in three of the four Oak Brook, Illinois office buildings (1818, 2100, OBDC). In addition to Recruiting/Human Resources, she also worked in Merchandising and Loss Prevention. After Ron Green, vice president of Loss Prevention retired in 1994, Barbara was asked to go to the Elk Grove warehouse to be the Administrative Assistant to the Director of Operations for Distribution. Barbara remained in that position until the Lunt and Pratt warehouses were downsized during Supervalu's consolidation of distribution centers in February 2007.
In her nearly 30 years of service with the company, Barbara has reported to Jim Willyard, Denny Zimmerman, John Dvorak, John Oliveri, Ron Green – all who are currently members of the Osco/Sav-on Alumni Club.
It didn’t take long after her “forced retirement” that Barbara was offered a Board Director position for the Osco/Sav-on Alumni Club. After Sharon Cartwright “retired” as the Club’s Administrative Coordinator in August 2007, Barbara assumed that position and has held ever since. Her biggest challenge has been soliciting club members for stories, editing and publishing the Club’s quarterly newsletter, Connections.
Barbara and Joe had three children, Joe Jr., Tony and Michelle. Joe works for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Washington DCand lives with his wife Lisa and two small children in Bethesda, Maryland. His oldest daughter Elizabeth is a graduate of the University of Arizona, and will be joining the Peace Corp. in June 2010 with an assignment in Peru. Tony is in the mortgage business and lives with his wife Brenda and five children in Oswego, Illinois. Daughter Michelle is currently unemployed as she has been fighting Hodgkin’s cancer for over 7 years. However, she has been involved in many organizations and ventures – www.15-40.org and www.joeypouch.com.
Sadly Barbara’s high school sweetheart and husband of many years, Joe, passed away November 3, 2009 after a 14 month battle with ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease. Barbara keeps busy with her family, club business, bike riding, working out at the gym, traveling to her home in Florida. She most recently joined her brother and sister in a new venture. Check out their eBay store for their treasures - http://stores.ebay.com/Art-Deco-Emporium-of-Chicago.
Comments