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The body of Martin Acevedo was recovered back in 2018 after a days-long search in Lake Hartwell.

“Since 2018, we’ve responded to 26 boat accidents, 32 water rescue calls, and for Lake Hartwell as a whole not just Anderson County, there were 16 fatalities on Lake Hartwell," said Josh Hawkins, Anderson County Sheriff’s Office's director of emergency management. "Those are recreational deaths."

At the time, Anderson County did not have the resources to dive as deep as it needed to recover the body of Martin Acevedo, which was more than 130 feet deep. This prompted multiple units from different counties to assist with the search and recovery.

"Typically recreation divers are only going to 130 feet deep at max, and that is being an advanced diver and a rescue diver,” Hawkins said. "Sometime after that, they [The Acevedo Family] asked what do you need? Something we desperately needed was new wetsuits, new hoods and new gloves.”

Through donations to the Martin Acevedo Legacy fund, the family has been able to keep his memory alive by impacting people and organizations that were close to Martin's heart and efforts that will help save lives in the future.

"We have purchased new dive equipment for the technical rescue team in Anderson," Jane Acevedo, the mother of Martin Acevedo, said. "We have also purchased equipment for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office. We wanted Anderson County to be able to have what they need right here without having to call in other teams to come and help when there’s an emergency.”

The family also purchased a brand new sonar system for emergency responders.

"This allows us to kind of cruise around and still do sonar searches while we have divers under water as well,” Hawkins said.

The Acevedo Family is currently preparing for an annual memorial event at 11 a.m. Sept 24 at Lebanon Baptist Church in Pendleton.

"He was just one of the happiest people you’d ever know," Acevedo family friend Benji Black said. "He never seemed to have a bad day and was always willing to help anybody, anywhere."

The free event will include tractors and equipment, antique cars, food, raffles activities for kids, and live bluegrass music from Clemson University's Tigertown Roots Bluegrass Band.

Martin was one of the founding members of Clemson University's Tigertown Roots Bluegrass Band, and he also had a hay business, was a volunteer firefighter, and grew up with a love of farming and agriculture.

“He was a very energetic young man," Jane Acevedo said. "He was very smart, he worked very hard as a farmer and he loved agriculture. Everybody loved Martin."

All proceeds from the event benefit the Martin Acevedo Legacy Fund, which goes directly back into promoting youth agriculture and music, as well as going directly back into helping emergency responders with search and rescue missions.

"He was such a great banjo player," Don Acevedo, the father of Martin Acevedo, said. "He's the reason why I started Breazeales Grocery Bluegrass. He was a wonderful son. I couldn't have asked for anything better. He was so well rounded."

Don Acevedo said he wants to share the life of his son with other people.

"The first few years, it’s really tough," Don Acevedo said. "It does get easier, but you never forget. So, my advice would be to hang on, keep the memories in your heart, push forward and keep your child's legacy alive. If you have children, always stay close to them, follow their daily moves and make sure you're involved in their lives.”

For more information on Saturday's event, contact Benji Black here.

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