Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 11, 1991                   TAG: 9104120683
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: S-12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH/ SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DEATHBED PROMISE PUTS BROTHERS INTO BUSINESS

A few months later, he found himself in Roanoke, making less than $100 a week. He did it to fulfill a promise he made to his mother, Nadia, in March of that year, just days before she died.

"She asked me to bring my brothers into a business and help them be successful, to form some sort of a group, and to look after each other."

Karkenny's four brothers were living in Roanoke and "not making ends meet," he said, even though two years before, Karkenny had helped them start a roofing business. Bound by his promise, he sold his house in Baltimore and moved back to Roanoke, where his family had settled in 1971 after leaving Lebanon in 1969.

Karkenny began building decks, refinishing basements and painting houses, bringing his brothers into the business one at a time, he said.

Today, Karkenny Building and Maintenance offers industrial roofing, exterior masonry, sealant and epoxy application and other services.

Among the company's biggest clients are DuPont, Genicom, Reynolds Metals, Exxon U.S.A., Hercules and Hollins College. Fourteen months ago, the business expanded to include a Kinetico water-purification equipment dealership.

John, 35, is the company's general manager, as well as a salesman. Abjad "Abe," 32, and Sina, 30, are field foremen, and Michael, 21, works as a salesman. Shabo "Bo", 24, who is recovering from a car accident, "helps out," John Karkenny said.

The Karkennys have three sisters, but neither they nor their husbands are involved in the business.

The venture has been "steadily successful," John Karkenny said, but like many other businesses, it was affected by the recent recession, with revenues falling by 65 to 70 percent.

But in the past few months, Karkenny said, things have gotten noticeably better.

In the future, Karkenny Water Systems Division should help during slack times in the building and maintenance division, although now it has just begun to pay for itself, he said.

Each of the brothers puts in about 16 hours a day, Karkenny said, but all of them are used to hard work, after having helped operate a family restaurant on Campbell Avenue in the '70s.

There are about a dozen similar businesses in the Roanoke Valley, Karkenny said, but what sets his apart is "high quality and a sense of pride in workmanship. We don't send a crew out unless one of the brothers is on the job."

"We're Christians, and we feel morality is the essence of success."

Also, he said, "we're not in a rush. We charge more, but [customers] end up getting a better product for the money." Despite the extra cost, he said, the company is frequently the low bidder on a project.

During the next year, he said, "I'd like people to give us a chance with the water softeners." Even though municipal water is safe, he said, digesting the impurities and solids "overworks the body."

Working for themselves and working together are vitally important to the Karkennys.

"The family's survival depends on it," John Karkenny said. When there are conflicts, he said "we meet each other halfway." Most of the time, he said, "we're like five peas in a pod."