Mt. Nebo chapter of Sons of Utah Pioneers gather as speaker reflects on journey of life
The Mt. Nebo Chapter of the Sons of Utah Pioneers had the privilege of hearing Douglas T. Snarr share several experiences of his remarkable life during its September meeting.
The Mt. Nebo Chapter of the Sons of Utah Pioneers meet at the Mervyn Sharp Bennion Veteran’s Home in Payson. It was the perfect setting for the presentation. Snarr was raised on an Idaho farm. He suffered from a speech impediment that presented challenges throughout his life.
He was a successful boxer in high school, losing only one fight in four years. He was influenced by his boxing coach and received both boxing and life coaching from him.
Snarr was talented in drawing and art work. As a young man he worked for the best sign painter in Idaho and learned from him.
He started his own sign painting business while still in high school. His sparring partner became his business partner and spokesperson. Snarr went to Indianapolis for help curing his stuttering. Through hard work and faith Snarr finally learned to control his speech.
Over time he became a national positive thinking speaker, traveling the country with men such as Paul Harvey and Norman Vincent Peele.
Snarr desired to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was called to the England/ Irish mission field. He came home from the mission field more confident and left behind a great deal of his heart and his swinging index finger. He could talk with confidence and believed in himself.
After returning home Snarr married his high school sweetheart and then proceeded to build his highway billboard empire and his fortune. He created eye catching signs for many major corporations including Harrah’s Casinos, Phillips Petroleum, Farr’s Ice Cream and many others.
He sold the signs based on balsa models and a high standard of business. When President Johnson pushed through the “Highway Beautification Act” Snarr’s business was affected as were all outdoor advertising companies.
Snarr negotiated a fair price for his signs and for other companies affected. He became a lobbyist for the industry in Washington DC.
After three long years Snarr was responsible for legislation that enabled the sign industry and the state and local governments to remove the signs with fair compensation to the owners and no lawsuits.
Snarr was called to Alaska as Mission President even though he had not been in any church calling other than bishop. He realized that more church buildings were needed in Alaska for the church to grow. He worked with the building committee, a lumber company in Seattle, and local congregations to facilitate the construction of 22 new chapels in Alaska within three years.
The design was a new concept that could adjust the size of the building to the size of congregation and allow for growth.
Chapter members were enthralled with Snarr’s presentation and could have listened to him for several hours. He presented each chapter member with a CD of his speech “Positive Thinking Works” which he presented at the 1978 “ATTITUDE RALLY”.
The Mt. Nebo Chapter of SUP meets on the fourth Thursday of each month with their wives for an enjoyable catered meal and guest speaker. They also take treks to various historical places about twice each year.
Anyone interested in finding out how to join the SUP should contact Dan Howlett at 801-361-0108.