Makenna Karmie’s Legacy Helps Many ‘Find Hope’
To say that ForeverLawn is a family business is underselling it a little bit. In this northeast corner of Ohio, the Karmies are seemingly everywhere. Dale and Brian, brothers, partners, and leaders of this merry enterprise, have surrounded themselves with family, figuratively and literally. Their wives, daughters, and sons work alongside them in creating an organization that has flourished over the last decade.
The story is relatively unique. Two brothers move from their native Ohio to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to go to a new business. A couple of issues arose: they had no money, experience, nor connection to this new industry, synthetic grass (some would call it AstroTurf). Nonetheless, their spirit of adventure and firm belief in each other enables them to build a thriving enterprise that is flourishing today.
However, the Karmie journey would probably be a fairly typical American success story—if not for their daughter Makenna’s tragic passing at the age of 20. Referred to as the “hub” of wherever she went, school, work, or church, this full-of-energy young woman was just at the start of a very vibrant life when the Lord called her up to Heaven.
It’s not every day that someone has a personal connection with Harvest Ministries from Ohio, but Makenna and her family had followed Pastor Greg Laurie’s teaching, and one of her wishes was to come to a Harvest Church service, which she got to do shortly before her untimely death. After her funeral, the Karmies came back to California to follow up on their daughter’s wishes and introduced them to Pastor Greg—who mentioned them during the service.
To say that they were honored and humbled by this gesture is an understatement. From that moment on, Dale and his family tried to find a way to give a measure of thanks to Harvest. And as it happened, their company started to sponsor the NASCAR “0” car driven by Jeff Earnhardt (grandson of legend Dale Earnhardt) and, without asking for anything in return, they started displaying the Harvest logo on the bumper of the car, along with a simple message: “Find Hope.”
As Dale would say: “This was the least we could do to promote His kingdom and honor Makenna’s legacy.”
Makenna Karmie will never be forgotten, and neither is a growing company in the heartland of America. This unique family’s story is proof positive that God is at work through the good and the bad, and His love and power of redemption never fail.
—
Changed people change the world. Have you been impacted by Harvest Ministries? We’d love to hear your story.
