Makenna Karmie’s Legacy Helps Many ‘Find Hope’

Have you ever read a great book that gets turned into a movie that ends up not being so great? Our trip to Louisville, Ohio, to meet the Karmie family and dig a little deeper into the premature loss of their daughter Makenna at the age of 20 and her unbelievable connection to God and Harvest was anything but that.

If we were to stay with the movie analogy, we would have to say that it is award-winning material. It is easy to have preconceived ideas about what someone goes through when experiencing something traumatic; the usual feelings of anger, denial, sadness, and helplessness permeate the immediate aftermath. Rare are the circumstances when one can rise above the hurt and see the bigger picture; the Karmies, Dale, Laurie, Brian, Angie, and their children are that and much more.

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.

A Leap of Faith

The story is relatively unique. Two brothers moved from their native Ohio to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to start a new business. The year was 2002, and as Dale Karmie grabbed the wheel of his Ford F-350 and got ready to pick up his younger brother Brian to make the long trip from Ohio to Albuquerque, the newfound headquarter for their nascent business, a bit of panic came to the surface. Behind him was his home, his wife and kids, and ahead laid uncertainty.

Parts of him just wanted to get back in the house where safety abounded. However, he knew that the future was ahead. A couple of issues arose; they had no money, experience, or connection to this new industry: synthetic grass (some call it “Astroturf”). Nonetheless, their spirit of adventure and firm belief put them on a bumpy road where many heartaches would reveal themselves. But, to paraphrase a popular country song, “God was at the wheel.”

They knew it was the right thing to do; they had prayed countless times over it, they knew that God would provide, yet, as we know, faith is the evidence of things not seen. Many years of tribulations would follow, and their faith would be tested more than once. Ultimately, their faithful persistence would be rewarded with the thriving business that it has become today.

Brian summed up the beginning of their journey with this quote: “I had just sent a simple email to Dale when I read that a local college was putting in synthetic turf on their field, one of the countless emails I have sent to my brother over the years, somehow this one was different. This lone missive would change the course of our lives.”

Dale added: “Words mean something; that small email Brian sent was the start of our journey, one that I could not have dreamed about. I think that Brian was a little surprised when I questioned him a bit more about it, as he had not thought about it much more.”

When Persistence Pays Off

Those who know Dale well would tell you that there isn’t a crazy idea that he is not willing to explore; something about the spirit of adventure brings the best out of him. The fact that his younger brother was involved was even better; this could be a way to work together. They both loved the idea of risk-taking and stepping out in faith. After kicking around a million ideas over the years, this one seemed like it was worth developing, but no one knew, not them nor their families, what this ride would be. Their faith would be sorely needed.

Two decades later, ForeverLawn has grown into a successful all-American business with more than 70 employees and a network of more than 80 dealers throughout the United States and Canada and proliferating. Theirs is a story of perseverance and belief in what the Lord can do with His mighty hand.

Not Your Typical Success Story

However, the Karmie journey would probably be a typical American success story if not for their daughter Makenna’s tragic passing. As we mentioned at the beginning of this story, the Karmies are a large family where everyone loves and respects each other. It takes but a few minutes to realize the closeness of this clan; mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, cousins, and all manners of relatives make up this “army.” They are the best of what American families are all about, honest, hard-working, with abounding faith and a deep love for Jesus.

This was learned from the patriarch of the family, Fred, a remarkable man who was undoubtedly (in Dale’s and Brian’s words) the hardest working, most determined man they had ever known. From him, the boys (Dale, Brian, and their older brothers Ken and Jim) learned that working to a higher standard was not just a goal, but essential, and that the reward for work was not necessarily money, but the satisfaction and the pride of a job well done.

Makenna’s Story

Makenna Karmie was often referred to as the “hub” of school, work, or church wherever she went. As Dale and his wife, Lorie, would say, “she had a love for what we called the ‘unseen,’ those who were friendless or alone.” It wasn’t unusual for her to find the lonely kid at school and sit right down with them and share the Lord. She had no fear nor filter, and this full-of-energy young woman was just at the start of a very vibrant life when the Lord called her up to Heaven.

There is a vulnerability in sharing such a personal story. One of the Karmie family’s biggest fears was that it would come off as self-aggrandizing in some odd way or that it would glorify their family or business in a manner that would be not only inappropriate but unseemly. Their greatest hope is that God would use the story and encourage others the way they have been inspired through this tragedy. Both Dale and Brian wanted their experiences to help see the commonality we all have with people, whether from Ohio, California, or anywhere in the world. This is a personal adventure that they are sharing for the first time on a large scope in many ways. As they are fond of saying, “God is at work, everywhere.”

When we say that God works in mysterious ways, well, this story had to be God’s. No one else could come up with this. If we were to pitch that story to a Hollywood agent, they probably wouldn’t believe it. It’s not every day that someone has a personal connection with Harvest from Ohio, but Makenna and her family were big followers of Harvest and Pastor Greg Laurie. In 2016, she came to California to spend the summer visiting her aunt and uncle, who attended Harvest. She instantly felt connected to the church and loved hearing Pastor Greg preach. One of her most fervent wishes was that her family would come together to California and experience this for themselves.

When Tragedy Hit

Unfortunately, in 2018, Makenna passed away. After her funeral, the Karmies came back to California to follow up on their daughter’s wishes and were introduced to Pastor Greg, who briefly had a conversation with them before the service. Unbeknownst to them, he would mention the “Karmie Army” story during the service, showing the commemorative bracelet honoring Makenna. He gave them comforting words, and more importantly, reassured them in the fact that Makenna was now in Heaven and that they would see her again someday.

To say that they were honored and humbled by this gesture is an understatement. Since then, Dale and his family have tried to find a way to give thanks to Harvest. In 2020, an opportunity arose to get involved in NASCAR. (As we’ve mentioned, nothing is too outside of the box for Dale Karmie!) This commitment was going to be the most substantial investment ForeverLawn would make to date, and it wasn’t without its own set of challenging circumstances. As Brian and Dale wrestled with this decision, Dale had the fateful idea of looking at this as an investment in the ministry and the gospel of Christ.

Like a lightning bolt, Pastor Greg and Harvest came to mind, and finally, after all this time, Dale had found a way to pay tribute to Harvest and impact countless people as a result. ForeverLawn started to sponsor the NASCAR “0” car driven by Jeff Earnhardt (grandson of racing legend Dale Earnhardt) and, without asking for anything in return, started displaying the Harvest logo as well as its message of hope on the bumper of the car. As Dale would say: “This was the least we could do to promote His Kingdom and honor Makenna’s legacy.”

Today, the Karmie story continues to evolve. ForeverLawn is growing exponentially, and their own message of hope through Jesus has a lasting impact on everyone they contact. Makenna Karmie will never be forgotten, and neither will a dynamic 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.

By Yves Le Sieur

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Changed people change the world. Have you been impacted by Harvest Ministries? We’d love to hear your story.