Proving the Doubters Wrong

 

Discover Distinguished Alumnus Don Snyder’s remarkable journey.

 

When Don Snyder’s high school counselor advised him not to go to college, she couldn’t have imagined she was talking to a future bank president and a university and community leader. The first of many “no way in hell” predictions — Snyder has spent his lifetime proving them wrong. 

“I’ve heard it in so many projects,” Snyder says. “When somebody tells me something can’t be done, I find that to be incredibly motivating.” 

 

Growing up, Snyder worked on the family farm near Aberdeen, S.D., and then in Wyoming in his father’s tire shop. One particularly rainy summer in Jackson Hole, Snyder worked road maintenance for $1.25 an hour. He befriended a grease monkey who lived in his 1957 Nash Rambler down by the river. “I decided that maybe I wanted to make a little bit more of myself than that, and that’s really when I got serious about studying,” Snyder says. 

 

After a year at Sheridan College, Snyder transferred to UW with renewed determination. The change was dramatic — he made the dean’s list and graduated in business administration with honors. 

Fresh out of UW, Snyder joined United California Bank with a simple philosophy: “I was going to work harder than the person in front of me, the person behind me, the person to my left and the person to the right.” 

In his first 18 years, he managed the Taipei branch and opened offices in Bangkok and Seoul. The Latin American debt crisis in the early 1980s placed him in charge of the Latin American branches. His willingness to tackle unfamiliar territories — whether geographic or professional — became a hallmark of his career and fueled his meteoric rise. It led to him achieving his goal of being a bank president before 40 years of age — president and CEO of First Interstate Bank of Nevada in 1987. 

When Wells Fargo was acquiring First Interstate in the early 1990s, Snyder faced a choice — relocate elsewhere or stay in Las Vegas. He chose Las Vegas. Gaming industry pioneer and major bank customer Bill Boyd approached him about revitalizing downtown Las Vegas. Fremont Street, the historic heart of the city, was struggling to compete with the rapidly developing Strip and suburban casinos. 

“There’s no way in hell that you’re going to get this thing done,” Snyder was told. Many doubted that eight fiercely competitive legendary casino owners could work together, but Snyder insisted on a comprehensive strategic planning process and brought them to the table. The result was the Fremont Street Experience, a groundbreaking public-private partnership that transformed downtown Las Vegas into a major tourist attraction. 

Bill Boyd then approach Snyder again to join his company’s board and to serve as president. After a successful nine years, Snyder chose to retire and to turn his attention to public service and community engagement. 

 

Perhaps no project better exemplifies Snyder’s ability to achieve the impossible than The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. Many dismissed the idea of Las Vegas’s first world-class performing arts center as unrealistic. Snyder agreed to chair the effort, but only under his familiar conditions, his successful formula — a comprehensive business plan, new board members and professional staff dedicated to the project. 

 

Snyder has been deeply engaged with the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) over the past 37 years. He joined the UNLV Foundation when he first moved to Las Vegas and served as its chair, leading the university’s first comprehensive capital campaign, which raised $537 million. He was then asked to serve as dean of the UNLV College of Hospitality and then as acting president. He helped UNLV achieve Research 1 status, secured approval for the university’s medical school and facilitated the first-ever U.S. presidential debate on campus. 

 

Snyder’s Wyoming roots remain central to his identity. He is being recognized as a UW Distinguished Alumnus. His autobiography, “Taking the Lead,” chronicles his remarkable journey from farm boy to community leader. 

Snyder and his wife, Dee, have contributed approximately $10 million to various causes over the years. Their generosity has touched education at every level — from the elementary school named in their honor to major university initiatives. In a particularly meaningful moment, the couple made $1 million commitments to both UNLV and The Smith Center on the same day. 

“We both said this has to be the best day in our life,” Snyder says. “To be able to do two $1 million gifts on the same day is pretty significant for people from humble beginnings.” 

Looking back at his high school counselor’s prediction, Snyder has no regrets. His life’s work has provided all the response necessary. The doubters, it turns out, couldn’t have been more wrong.