01/01/2026
It is with great sadness and months worth of reflection that I want to inform my customers that going forward my company will be a solo operation. My commercial/storefront route will remain unchanged and I will be spending the next couple months agonizing over which jobs I will be able to continue to do and set a reoccurring calendar going forward. When I first started my business I was blessed to have two men by my side, my dad Dave Willis and Phil (Buck) Lampe. The next year I hired Levi Lange and a few years later Jerry Roling. These men were the epitome of the true American blue collar workers. In the last several years three of them have retired leaving me trying to replace the giant holes in their absence. Since then I’ve hired seven guys that have come and gone. This year was the year that proved to be my last straw…
I started the year with four of us working and at the end of June my new hire left the job site at lunch and never returned. No conversation or anything he just left. At the end of this season I was forced to let the other guy go due to the fact that he had be en late 20 times and had missed 21 days of work not including approved vacation days in the nine months he had worked that season. I have realized that I love my job but am entirely fed up trying to train new employees only to have them leave shortly or be forced to fire guys that take advantage of my kindness. Levi and I had a very hard conversation about how we were both feeling about the situation and came to the conclusion that it would be best if we both did our own thing to better fit our unique situations.
As many of you know Tracy, my daughter Tori, and I’s lives were broken into two halves May 13 2021 with the passing of our beloved son Kellen. Since then we have tried to press on with our lives, trying to find our normal again. As anyone who has lost a child will tell you the grief seeps into every corner of our existence. I no longer see success in life measured in the digits in the bank, but in moments of joy and peace with my wife and daughter. I am no longer capable of separating my frustration with disappointing new hires from the anxiety that overwhelms my life in the tough times of grief.
To all of my customers I can’t possibly put into words how grateful Tracy and I are for your patronage year after year and I hope you can understand the situation we are in. I’ve watched some of your families grow for over thirty years and some of your kids become clients as well. These decisions will be very difficult to make and I hope that no one looks at it as a personal attack on them or their job, unfortunately there isn’t enough days on the calendar to try and make room for everyone. God bless you all in the new year!
Sincerely,
Tim
