Almost 24 years ago, Steve and Vicki Snider moved to Zionsville, and their contributions to the town have been numerous. For that reason, they have been selected as grand marshals to lead this year’s Fall Festival Parade.
The parade starts at 10 a.m. Sept. 10, originating at Zionsville Community High School then to Mulberry Street, continuing on Ash Street and ending at Main and Sycamore streets.
When Tom Melind, a member of the Lions Club, reached out to the Sniders for assistance in the renovation of Lions Park in the early 1990’s, the Sniders were happy to lend a hand by providing machinery available to them as owners of The Snider Group, an excavation company.
When supplies were needed for projects during the renovation, Steve would reach out to suppliers and ask for donations. He would say, “I can’t promise you you’ll go to heaven if you do this, but I can promise you won’t go to hell.”
The Sniders’ community involvement didn’t stop there. From digging the pond for the Zionsville United Methodist Church, to helping prevent oil spillage into Eagle Creek following a fire at Taylor Oil in 2008, they utilized the resources at their disposal to give back to the town.
When the couple first moved to Zionsville from Noblesville in 1998, Vicki Snider said they were afraid they wouldn’t be able to make friends, as their kids had recently moved out of the house and they had no other way of connecting to people.
“When we joined the Lions Club, it was like coming home again,” Snider said. “We felt like members of the community.”
The Sniders have continued to lend their time and equipment to one of the town’s most prominent events, the Fall Festival, during the last couple decades, contributing to the success of an occasion cherished by the residents. They have received many awards for their service to the community, and while they may not be actively involved in as many volunteer projects post-retirement, they still regularly attend Lions Club meetings and take regular trips to Lions Park to enjoy the beauty of the green space they helped maintain for so many years.
“There’s always one thing that draws people from all over the community, and in Zionsville it’s the Lions Club and the park,” Snider said. “It’s just nice to be a part of it.”
