TORONTO — Discover America Canada is inviting the travel industry to honour Brand USA’s Casey Canevari at a special holiday season event next month.

DAC’s annual Holiday Reception will take place Thursday, Dec. 4 at Radisson Blu Toronto Downtown (249 Queens Quay W.). The event starts at 5 p.m.

DAC says it is working closely with Casey’s family and Brand USA “to ensure that this event reflects the spirit of the man we all admired.” Casey’s wife Christine Canevari, will attend the Dec. 4 get-together.

Casey served as Director, Global Trade Development (Canada) for Brand USA, and was a friend and valued industry partner to many, many people in the Canadian travel industry.

Casey was in Canada for Brand USA’s Canada Connect events when he suffered a medical seizure and lost consciousness. He passed away May 1 at the age of 43.

“A cherished non-voting board member at Discover America Canada, Casey was a unifying force in our industry and played an important role in helping to shape the organization’s events, membership growth and partnerships,” said DAC.

“Casey’s sudden passing earlier this year left a profound impact on the Canada-U.S. travel community and his passion for connecting people and unwavering support of Canadian partners helped strengthen the bridge between Canada and U.S. travel.”

The DAC said it welcomes all travel industry colleagues who knew and worked with Casey “to join us [on Dec. 4] in remembering his warmth, generosity, and the impact he made on both our industry and our hearts.”

Guests in attendance will be invited to contribute to a special memory box that will be set up at the venue, with any stories or tributes about Casey, as mementos for his family to read through on their own time and recognize the impact he made in our Canadian travel industry.

DAC is also sharing a fundraising link created by the Canevari family, called the Canevari Memorial Fund, set up in support of his children’s college savings as well as the support/scholarship fund for future travel/tourism professionals: CanevariMF.com/donate.

Guests at the Dec. 4 event are also encouraged to wear the colour purple, to raise awareness of epilepsy in Casey’s honour.

DAC is also encouraging early registration, as space is limited. “We want to ensure everyone who wishes to attend can join us.”

The link to register for the Dec. 4 Discover America Canada Holiday Reception is here.