Some people don’t just work in hospitality, they shape it. Through presence, through laughter, through the way they make others feel seen and welcome without ever trying too hard.

Our community is built on those people. The big personalities and the quiet ones. The soft hearts, the sharp edges, the comedians, the caretakers. The ones who show up night after night and somehow turn a room full of strangers into something that feels like family.

Yesterday, we woke up to the loss of one of those people.

A friend. A brother. A son. A beautiful soul in our hospitality community whose love language was humor. The kind of person who could break tension with a look, a joke, a perfectly timed comment, reminding all of us not to take life so seriously, even when it was heavy.

Heaven gained a comedian, and our world is a little less funny because of it.

Usually you wake up and a nightmare is over. This one isn’t and his humor would have been deeply appreciated in these moments. Instead, we’ll move forward carrying pieces of it with us, loving harder, laughing louder, and holding each other closer.

We are coming together to honor his memory and to support his family in the ways they need most right now. A death in the family can take a sudden emotional and unfortunately also financial toll. Hospitality isn't the highest paying profession but through coming together as a community we can reach our goal to raise enough money to help alleviate some of that struggle for the family he has left behind. Anything you could donate would help to provide relief. Some of these costs can include his transportation back to Wisconsin, funeral costs, flights and accommodations for his family.