Kelly and Theresa McDonald have never taken the standard route in life. Maybe that's why they are transforming Snake River Truck into the most innovative automotive business in the Treasure Valley.
They don't accessorize cars as much as they help customers create classics.
Snake River Truck was founded in 1981 and over the next 25 years became one of the premier dealers in automotive parts and accessories. Its name was pure Idaho and embodied region it served.
A number of businesses may have shared the name, but Snake River Truck stood out.
Now, the foundation of the past is combining with the vision of the future in the form of its new owners.
Like many Treasure Valley residents, they moved to the valley and brought their experience and talent to a new home.
Kelly grew up in Buffalo, New York (before migrating to California, Arizona and much of Asia) while Theresa hailed from New Jersey. Theresa's background is in business with a degree from Johns Hopkins University and Kelly came out of the hi-tech world of the aerospace and semiconductor industries.
After following its progress for two years, they purchased Snake River truck in June of 2007. With a mixture of cutting edge technical expertise, love of cars and hard work, they are transforming the leading parts and accessories business into a no-holds barred playground for car enthusiasts.
"Snake River Truck has been in business since 1981," said Kelly, who has worked with and for everyone from Linde Gas LLC (the world's largest engineering firm), to Texas Instruments to Motorola to the United States Navy. "So this company has a good history. That's what I was looking for."
"The name 'Snake River' has a certain validation that makes it a part of this area.
"Most importantly, both Kelly and Theresa share their customers' love of people and cars.
"We not only bring aptitude, but we bring ideas," Kelly said. "I like to have fun at work. This is a place where people hang out and have fun doing what they do."
And what they do is just about anything that can be imagined. Whether it's a Honda or Corvette, the Snake River Truck team has the know-how and the want-to to make any car unique.
If starting from scratch sounds like fun - that works, too. Custom designs are a specialty.
"I am an expert at getting things done and done on time," said Kelly, who originally moved to the Treasure Valley as a design consultant helping create the facilities at Zilog. "My job is to be a dream coordinator. I want to help people make their dreams come true."
"The goal is to push people's 'fun button.'"
What will Snake River Truck look like in 10 years?
"We expect to have a couple more locations," said Kelly,
"With many of our cars on the covers of national magazines, being a trendsetter, not just locally, but nationally."
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