POY Nominee — Bucky Rawhouser: Supporting community
Submitted photo Farnsworth Services owner Bucky Rawhouser with his wife, Whitney Rawhouser.
Barney Ottema is crystal clear in his opinion of his friend and part-time employer, 2025 NLJ Person of the Year nominee Bucky Rawhouser.
“You won’t find a better person in Newcastle, Wyoming. I guarantee that,” he said.
Newcastle native Rawhouser owns and operates three local businesses: Farnsworth Services, B&M Dozer Service and Odies Inc. He purchased the flagship business, Farnsworth Services, about 11 years ago, and according to Rawhouser, he and his employees offer a wide variety of services.
“Farnsworth Services Co., Inc. provides dirt work, residential services, construction, roll-offs, portable restrooms, trucking, landscaping and water line/services to the Newcastle, WY area,” the business’s website states.
Rawhouser was nominated as person of the year by one of his former
customers, Decker’s Market co-owner Jeremiah Decker. Farnsworth Services completed much of the groundwork for Decker’s store in Newcastle.
“When someone like Bucky starts or buys a business, everything is on the line – his reputation, his capital and the livelihoods of the people who work for him. These builders are the backbone of our community, and their success matters to all of us,” Decker said.
The longevity of Rawhouser’s businesses — he established his first, B&M Dozer Service, about 20 years ago — suggests continued success, but so does the businessman’s attitude.
“If you have a bad day, just move forward and know that tomorrow is a new day,” he said, “and if people say that you’re going to fail, I’m the type who will say, ‘Well, I’ll prove you wrong.’”
Rawhouser’s success is also bolstered by how he treats his employees, which is a belief the employees themselves hold.
Pam Brinson is Rawhouser’s secretary at Farnsworth Services and has held this position since 2001.
“We’ve got a really good crew here that Bucky has kept. There’s two of us who were here when he bought the company. The others have been here quite a while too. So, the longevity of employees is important,” she said.
In his interview with the News Letter Journal, Brett Reed also spoke to how Rawhouser treats his employees. Reed has known Rawhouser for most of his life and has been a foreman at Farnsworth Services since his boss purchased the business in 2015.
“I would say, at times, he’s overly good to his employees,” he said.
Reed pointed out Rawhouser’s willingness to accommodate his employees. He said, for example, that Rawhouser is great about allowing workers to take time off to attend their children’s sporting events.
“He isn’t ever going to get on anybody if they want to take off at noon on Friday because their kid’s playing basketball in Douglas,” he said. “There aren’t any questions about that sort of stuff, even if it puts Bucky in a bind workwise.”
Reed also commended Rawhouser on how he handles complications at work.
“He doesn’t yell at people if they make bad mistakes. He’ll let it be for a little bit, calm down and then come back and have a conversation with the employee,” he said.
Reed said he appreciates this because it doesn’t put him in the awkward position of needing to play peacemaker between the boss and a worker under his own supervision.
Rawhouser is also known for his generosity and community involvement. Reed mentioned how, due to Newcastle being a small community, businesses are often approached by organizations seeking donations, such as youth sports teams.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard him say no,” he said.
Ottema also commented on Rawhouser’s support of youth athletes.
“He’s heavily involved with athletics,” Ottema said. “He buys them uniforms. It’s unbelievable. He’s helped kids who couldn’t afford to go places, and he puts up money for kids to be in sports, helps feed them and stuff like that.”
Rawhouser not only leveled the local baseball field but also installed a new scoreboard at the football field, doing both free of charge.
The businessman also hosts a veterans’ barbecue at the Farnsworth Services shop every Memorial Day and has done so for the past five years. He has the event catered and opens it to the public. He purchases a large American flag and, each year, invites local veterans to lower the old flag and raise the new one.
“He brings in the VFW, and they do the whole flag ceremony, and it’s really cool,” Reed said.
Ottema also noted Rawhouser’s patriotism.
“Bucky’s done so much for the veterans,” he said, “and he doesn’t write it off either. He just eats it, you know, because he believes in America.”