Keynote

Monday, February 22

Saint Louis Zoo

6:00 – 9:00 pm

We will be van-pooling. Please indicate on your registration form if you are bringing

a van. If you need to ride in a van, please sign up in advance at the registration table and then meet in the Hotel lobby at 5:30 pm.

We’ll begin the evening with a delicious buffet dinner and cash bar at the Saint Louis Zoo’s McDonnell Center at River Camp. Located at the end of River's Edge, the McDonnell Center at River Camp offers a scenic, private setting. A dramatic window into the Missouri River Aquarium at one end affords a spectacular view of paddlefish, gar and many other aquatic creatures.

Keynote Speaker – Andrew E. Jefferson Sr.

Natural Resources Specialist Park Ranger, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Using Your Available Resources

Resources come in all shapes, sizes and colors. What’s one person’s junk may be another person’s treasure. Often when we look around there is a wealth of resources available right at our finger tips. The challenge is to discover by uncovering those resources that will fit your need. Using creativity and originality can produce a positive experience for visitors and enhance the public’s understanding of your organization. Andrew’s outstanding contribution as lead interpreter and public relations specialist through creative partnerships and positive public engagement has enabled him to accomplish extraordinary things from ordinary resources. He uses a grassroots approach to prove that anything is possible if your passion outweighs your position. It doesn’t matter where you are from as long as you know where you want to go and how to get there.

Andrew E. Jefferson Sr. Bio:

Mr. Jefferson was born in Greenville, Mississippi but grew up in East Louis, Illinois and attended the public schools there. He graduated from East St. Louis Sr. High School in 1979. While attending Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, Illinois (SIU-E), he spent several months (December 1983 to March 1984) volunteering for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the St. Louis District Office. His career with the government officially began in 1984 through a temporary program called “Stay-In-School”. He conducted an internship with the USACE St. Louis District Office and accepted a job offer from them upon graduating from SIU-E in 1985 with a BS Degree in Recreation. After spending 3 years in the District Office, he accepted a job offer at Wappapello Lake in 1987, where worked as a Park Technician and the lead ranger in both the Visitor Assistance and Interpretive Programs. In 2003, Mr. Jefferson received the first ever St. Louis District EEO Award. Other accomplishments include: National Water Safety Congress Award of Merits for Water Safety Campaign (1999, 2000, and 2001); Presenter at the 2000 and 2008 International Boating and Water Safety Summits; 2008 USACE Mississippi Valley Division Interpreter of the Year and Chief of Engineers Hiram M. Chittenden Award for Interpretive Excellence.

He and his wife are the proud parents of two sons and a daughter ages 12, 11, and 8. Mr. Jefferson enjoys spending time with his family, participating in church activities, school functions and coaching youth basketball and baseball.