A native of Indiana, she has lived in Harrison County since 1978. She and her husband, Ray Saylor, moved to the Frenchtown area, in northwest Harrison County, in 2004. She has two children, Randy and Kimberly, who both attend Indiana University in Bloomington. (Jo Ann attended Purdue University, which causes for interesting sports cheering.) Randy is expected to graduate in May 2006, and Kimberly should finish in May 2008.

Jo Ann joined the staff at O'Bannon Publishing Co. Inc. in May 1991, and is a writer and photographer for The Corydon Democrat newspaper. She serves as the company's campaign coordinator for Metro United Way. Since graduating from the Leadership Harrison County program, Jo Ann has remained active in the 2004-05 class project, which is to establish Safe Place sites in Harrison County.