Lairds are passing the torch of the poop business

After 19 years, Andrea & Mike Laird are getting out of the poop business. Laird Sanitation has sold. 

The Lairds bought the business in February 2007 from JC Services. It had roughly 30 portable toilets and a couple of trucks. Since then, the business has grown to 300 portable toilets and “lots” of trucks and employees, according to Mike. 

“We passed the torch to have ‘somebody’ take it to even bigger and better levels,” Mike said. He added that Andrea and he are at the point where they want to enjoy life and not have the phone ringing seven days a week saying they “got poop.” 

That “somebody” is Cammi and Adam Fink from Ranchester. They started Clear Creek Septic Services with Cammi’s dad Lyle Mitchell. Laird Sanitation and Clear Creek met on the mountain, sorta. Mike had seen the Clear Creek truck on the mountain where it was broken down. He thought who is in my territory, so he called the number and asked, “Who are you?” Lyle answered. The two hit it off immediately. 

When the Elk Creek fire near Sheridan broke out in October of 2024, Mike received a call asking for portable toilets on top of the mountain. Ten toilets were needed at Burgess Junction. He thought, ‘Not a problem,’ but within 24 hours the fire had grown so much, he knew he couldn’t handle it. He called Lyle and asked if Clear Creek could help. The answer was, “Yep.” Since then, they have had a great relationship and been helping each other out.   

Clear Creek started in July of 2021. Adam and Cammi were working full time in other jobs. Lyle was working part time jobs. They continued to grow the business until there was enough work Lyle could be full time. In July of 2025, Cammi quit her job and took on much of the paperwork that Adam was doing late at night. Another factor was their three children.

“Mostly so that we were raising our kids and not daycare or everybody else. That was super important to us. We made the decision to purchase Laird Sanitation. May be something to pass down to our kids. But again, mainly so we can be present in our kid’s lives,” Adam said. He continued that at the first encounter between the two companies, he kind of hung his head because their truck was broken down. He chuckled and thought, “They’re not worried about us.” When Mike first asked him if he had any interest in purchasing, he wasn’t sure.  They started Clear Creek so Lyle could ease into retirement. That turned in to exactly the opposite. 

Cammi added, “We wanted him to tootle around and be available to be a grandpa. He has been a rancher my whole life and could never go to anything. So, we thought, let’s buy him a truck and he can just have fun. Be as busy as he wants to be.” 

Adam expressed that the success of their business rides on Lyle’s shoulders. “I thought we did it for him. He thinks he is doing it for us.” 

As Adam started learning and working with the Lairds he realized he has big shoes to fill in. “How much they support the community, which is important to us. I wasn’t super familiar with the Big Horn Basin until I started coming over here. It is 20 years behind Sheridan, in a great way. It is the Wyoming that I grew up with.” 

He was born and raised in Buffalo, Wyoming. His parents owned a water well business. “We went from rags to riches several times.  Back then the community would come together to help each other. That is how it is here.” 

Like Mike, Adam is a Veteran. He served in the Marine Corps for four years. He said he wasn’t sure if that commonality had anything to do with Mike selling them the business. But he is proud they share the Veteran bond.  

Looking back on their 19 years in the business, Mike said “Got poop?” was the best thing he has come up with for the business. It came to his mind when he was watching the Days of ’49 tug-a-war in 2007.  

“I was thinking man I need to come up with something for a radio ad. I saw someone wearing a t-shirt that said ‘Got mud?’ (M-I Swaco). I looked at Andrea and said that’s it…got poop?” 

Lairds Sanitation serves the entire Big Horn Basin primarily from Thermopolis to the state line, but they also do work at Boysen Reservoir and Shoshoni. They handle the Bighorn Mountains including forest fire crews, vaults, and campgrounds.  

Laird wasn’t kidding when he said their phone (two actually) rang seven days a week. When they first started, they received one or two phone calls a day to 30-40 calls a day during the busy season. He added, “When mom can’t flush the toilet, there is a problem.” 

Over the 19 years, community involvement has been a core component of the company from education scholarships, sponsorships of events and donations to multiple causes. Mike said they do it because if it wasn’t for the Big Horn Basin communities, the Lairds wouldn’t have a business that is as successful as it is today. 

“We like to give to all the communities we serve. Especially if it has anything to do with kids,” he said.

 They are happy the new owners will continue the tradition of community involvement. He also expressed his gratitude to the communities when they lost their son Brendon in 2014.   

Mike explained why they decided to get into the business. 

“When I got back from Iraq the first time, my job at Hawkins and Powers was not available. I needed a job. I did a second deployment because we needed money.” 

When he got back from the deployment he knew he didn’t want to work for anyone else. Then he heard JC Services (Jason and Samantha Cook) might be for sale. The business grew and grew. At one point they bought Ron’s Sanitation and Bob Lassister’s Basin Sewer Service. 

Mike gives credit to Andrea for being the backbone of the business. When he retired from the National Guard after 37 years, she retired from her physical therapy job. Neither one has a business background. He explained that once he retired and started doing their business full time, he knew he needed her help full time. She was working 40 hours at Gottsche plus 40 hours doing the business’s books. He was doing 70-80 hours a week himself for the business. 

Why sell now?  “One of the things I told Andrea when we started this business was that when I turn age 60, I want to be totally retired so we can spend life together. We haven’t been able to spend that time together over the last 19 years. With both of us working two full time jobs we haven’t been on a summer vacation or spent one day in the Bighorn Mountains in the last 19 years. We want to find each other.”