Earlier this year, one of our most fervent supporters, David Ozment, passed away. He was instrumental to The Foundry Farm’s success, one of his premiere projects being our egg-laying henhouse. 

He meant a great deal to our participants and took an active interest in their lives. He also meant a great deal to our staff.

I met Dave Ozment when I first came to the foundry farm from our Bessemer campus in 2013. It was right at 4 years ago when Dave started talking about us needing a poultry house out here with layers. I thought, at first, what are you talking about? But I tell you, when Dave Ozment set his mind to it, we had a hen house not too long after that.

From the beginning, Dave took care of everything that had anything to do with the house, construction, hen delivery, our first batch of egg cartons, and more. One of the great things about Dave is that it didn’t matter who you were; you could not say no to Dave. He would ask our faithful community members for specific needs, and everyone would come through.

Dave knew what we were doing at the farm was much bigger than laying hens. He knew that the commitment and dedication of the men responsible for this house would forever be life-changing. Dave came to the farm at least 3 to 4 times a week and some weeks every day. His love and compassion for the men in our program has always been his number one priority. He lived and gave like no one I have ever met.

There isn’t a day or hour that goes by that I wish I could pick up the phone and call him. I would love to hear his voice or ask him about something that only he would know the answer to. He was always there for me, the farm, and our participants. He wasn’t only a man who gave his all to our program but also to me personally. He was a true friend.

-Eddie Wilson

Dave was a godly man with an infectious smile and a can-do attitude. He never met a stranger and was genuinely interested in the other person’s story. He was always the quintessential encourager. We were always blessed by the men when we’d meet to check on the chickens every other week. On most of these visits, we’d pray. On a recent visit, we prayed from Isaiah that commands us to “seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.” During that prayer, Holy Spirit showed up in a mighty way! If Dave had not lived out this verse, others that followed him could have missed out on this and the other many blessings our Abba Father worked out using Dave as His hands and feet. Thank You, Father God, for Dave!

-Sam Christenberry

He always wanted to improve the companies he worked with. We need more people like Dave today!

-Mark Farmer