By Michael Baginski/ Casey Canevari, the late Brand USA Director of Global Trade Development (Canada), was bestowed with the title “honorary Canadian” as he was remembered – and celebrated – at a special Discover America Canada event in Toronto late last week.
The honorarium was fitting because Canevari was so passionate about this country, said his wife Christine, who was jetted in from Boston by Porter Airlines for the event.
Several speakers, some breaking down in tears, praised Canevari as an exceptional person and family man, and noted his amazing capacity for making friends – with many of those in the room counting themselves as such.
At the same time, he was remembered as an enthusiastic proponent of the Canadian market and for making connections and working with the Canadian travel trade.
Only 43 and a father of three boys, Canevari was on the job at a Brand USA event in Toronto in late April when he suffered an epileptic fit, dying several days later in hospital.
Canevari was a non-voting member of Discover America Canada, which dedicated its annual Christmas gathering at the Radisson Blu hotel to a man who was “a good friend to everyone here,” stated DAC board member Raina Williams (The Expedia Group).
Fighting back tears, she added, “Casey truly was one of a kind – Casey was different! He arrived in our market as an American resident, but it didn’t take long before he became an honorary Canadian and I actually think he loved that title.
“And beyond that, from the moment he joined our world, Casey took our industry by storm. His work ethic was best in class and for Casey nothing was impossible. If you told him something couldn’t be done, he’d give you that witty Casey look and then he would make it happen.
“He poured his heart into everything he did and that’s exactly how he lived his life – with heart, with passion, with joy, and with an adventurous spirit that seems to have had no limit… He saw the good, and he brought the good out in others.”
Among the attendees were colleagues from the U.S., including U.S. Consul General in Canada Baxter Hunt, who recalled, “Prior to the pandemic, Canadian travellers were often taken for granted by many U.S. destinations (which) just considered Canada part of their domestic market… and that all changed after Casey was appointed the head Canadian representative for Brand USA… (Casey) was a man who contributed so much to the Canada-U.S. relationship.”
“To say that we will miss Casey is insufficient,” U.S. commercial services representative Chris Alexander said simply in a note sent from Brazil.
Taking the microphone, Christine Canevari said, “The biggest thing I want to say is to thank you guys for being to him his extended family – because the way he felt about all of you, I’m not sure that you know how much he loved you all, as colleagues, but more as friends.
“(Travel) was his passion. It was his commitment. His legacy is so much more than the Canveri name – everybody (can) see the legacy he left behind and the work he did. And I think he would be proud to see all of you here honouring him tonight. Thank you for honouring him.”
The emotional evening also highlighted a memorial fund for his children’s education, which Christine said will also be used to create scholarships for future travel/tourism professionals, as will annual memorial fund-raising events, including a golf tournament, in his name at home in Boston.
Given his love and dedication to the travel industry, she added, the latter will truly create a legacy of which Casey would be proud.
For those wishing to contribute to the fund, click HERE.
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