Grays Harbor Spotlights

It would be hard to meet a person on the harbor who doesn't recognize the Snell Crane logo. Eric Snell, the founder of Snell Crane was truly larger than life. A hometown guy that built up a family business, knew how to work hard and have fun.

A lifelong Aberdeen resident, Eric started working at Rognlin's the day after graduating from high school, following in his father’s footsteps in carpentry and the construction trade. He always had a passion for cranes and purchased a boom truck, from there Snell Crane was born.

Eric took his small-town values and built something big that now gives local individuals a steady career to provide for their families and generations to come. Combined with his likeable demeanor and his loving wife and children by his side, Snell Crane has been in business for 30 years. In addition to Snell Crane, Eric was passionate about his second business, Doc Manufacturing, a patented high-rise material hoisting system that he named after his father, Doc Snell.

His daughter Haley remembers him as a devoted father, husband, son and friend. She said "He never met a stranger, only friends he hadn’t gotten to know yet. His phone was always ringing, his calendar full, and his heart wide open."

Eric saw the value in hard work and having the ability and skill set to get the job done. His family created the Eric Snell Memorial Vocational Scholarship for local students going into the construction trades.

Eric was the kind of person who made everyone feel like family in his world, and this is his way of still having his unmistakable presence live on in the lives of local students going into the trades.

The Grays Harbor Community Foundation scholarships are open until March 1st. Thanks to generous donors like the Snell Family, this year we will award over $1M to Grays Harbor students to pursue their studies and dreams! Apply today at www.gh-cf.org and contact Senior Program Officer, Jessica Hoover at jessica@gh-cf.org with questions.