Making a Difference on his Mind

A Boss With Ketchup in His Veins and Making a Difference on His Mind

By Rachel Forrester

Many people might consider a job in fast food as a launching pad or way for young workers to make some extra cash. For Nicholas Snowberger (BBA 05), however, a career at McDonald’s has been at the top of his list for as long as he can remember, and he wants others to see that the fast food giant has potential to be more than just “America’s best first job.”

Nic’s parents, John and Robin Snowberger, own locations in Portales, Tucumcari and Clovis; Nic purchased the Roswell locations from them in 2016. Like many people who follow a successful family legacy, the 35-year-old owner is passionate about his work, but he also feels pressure to live up to the name.

“Dad has always been there for advice and counsel whenever I ask,” said Nic. “But I also have an innate drive to get out from his shadow and take new ideas and risks that will not only reinforce the powerful impression he is leaving, but take it to another level.”

His newest initiative began with hiring Toni, a Dream Ambassador, as a way to boost morale by helping his employees accomplish a personal goal. Toni meets with each worker one-on-one to learn about his or her biggest dream or ambition. She then researches what it will take to turn that dream into a reality, and helps that employee craft a budget, a savings plan and set up a bank account to achieve that goal. If the employee can save 95 percent of what they need, Nic steps in to cover the last five.

“I have ketchup in my veins!” explained Nic, who started working the Portales McDonald’s drive-through in high school and now owns several locations in Roswell and Artesia.

“We recently helped a young lady named Betty Carabajal purchase a new vehicle,” Nic recalled. “She was in desperate need after depending on the charity of friends and family for too long, and the addition of the vehicle has had a lasting effect. We also worked with Diana Corral who had been a manager at one of our locations for a little over six years. With the help of our Dream Program, she opened her own tortilla and chip factory – something that had been in the works for over a decade.”

The McDonald’s locations with this program in place have experienced double-digit decreases in turnover for both crew and management. Three of the four Roswell locations, as well as the location in Artesia, perform well above the national average. The newest Roswell location that was built two years ago is experiencing double-digit growth and will soon join the others.

In addition to his Dream Ambassador program, Nic has developed the Snowberger Children’s Foundation, a nonprofit that will provide scholarships to ENMU students, graduating seniors from Roswell, Goddard and Artesia High School, and that generously supports the Ronald McDonald House charity.

“While attending ENMU I was very involved with the Kappa Sigma fraternity through which I received multiple Scholarship Leadership Awards,” Nic explained. “The scholarship made such a difference for my college experience, allowing me to spend more time on my studies, and not juggling a full-time job. I’m very passionate about education and personal development and love being a part of other people’s success stories.”

Nic noted that the Dream Program has paid for itself many times over, and that the more he focuses on the success of the people around him, the more they are able to accomplish as a team. His brother Chris Snowberger (BBA 07) has been performing well in the family business, and he is the general manager for two locations in Roswell and Artesia. Nic’s wife SooJee (BBA 13) is on the Board of Directors for the Snowberger Children’s Foundation and spends much of her time raising their 3-year-old son Joshua.