The industry is mourning, especially within the TTAND community, the sudden loss of Gary Gzik, who passed away earlier this week.
The CEO of Build a Kick Ass Company, a division of BizXcel Inc, suffered a heart attack on Monday, November 20 and passed away at the young age of 60, with his wife Jane by his side.
Gary Gzik (Photo Credit: Dan Galbraith)
Gary may be known for his work around the globe, but over the years had become almost synonymous with The Travel Agent Next Door, for his inspiring, insightful and motivating sessions at their yearly conference.
News of Gary’s passing hit the travel agent community hard Tuesday afternoon, particularly TTAND’s CEO Flemming Friisdahl and his team who had just spent time with Gary at their retreat.
“We had the pleasure of Gary being a Keynote Speaker at one of TTANDs conferences and he instantly grew on our agent partners, the support team and Rhonda and myself. He was a very dynamic speaker and so able to relate his presentation to our agents,” says Friisdahl.
“Year after year he came to our conference as well as the TTAND support office events and helped us get better at what we do. Gary was very generous with his time; he would spend his own personal time with our agent partners if they had questions or needed a guiding hand. He supported me personally in many ways, but what made him so special was his smile and his ability to be so kind to everyone around him. He would be funny, and he would be serious, and he would have GREAT advice.
After the second year we had the pleasure to meet Jane his amazing wife and she started to attend all the conferences with Gary, and she fit in perfectly and recently we started to work with Gary’s daughter Hanna who is so good at what she is doing following in her dads footsteps.
Gary was the most kind, caring, compassionate soul who impacted so many people’s lives of those fortunate to know him. Our hearts go out to Jane, Hanna, Evan, their friends, the TTAND family and everyone who loved being and working with Gary.”
Gary Gzik and Julie Gillen
“Gary was a wonderful, compassionate colleague that lit up the room with his positive energy and warm smile. There was a gentle nature to him that was compelling. You couldn’t help but listen intently when he spoke, to read his books and feel empowered by his ideas,” travel agent Julie Gillen remembers. “He was a friend to everyone he met.
After ten minutes with him and Jane, you would feel like you’d known them forever. Gary always seemed to find the bright side and his passion was infectious. We have lost a great mentor; we have all misplaced our orange popsicle today.”
Gary Gzik and Eric Lam
"He brought out the best in everyone around him, he was always happy to see you ," said Eric Lam of Safeguard, a supplier for TTAND conferences. "And he loved my twizzlers," he fondly jokes.
Gary's daughter Hannah has shared messages on social media, saying "he has left our hearts broken and our world shattered. Gary was the most kind, caring, compassionate soul who impacted so many people’s lives of those fortunate to know him.
As we shared the announcement, we received an outpouring of love, stories and words that describe my dad, Gary Gzik, perfectly. It is evident that he left behind an incredible legacy and impacted so many lives, which was his reason for doing what he did all these years.”
Gary Gzik and Marsha Mowers
The family is asking for privacy during this difficult time and details on a celebration of life will be announced later.
Friisdahl perfectly captured the legacy of Gary from TTAND's last conference:
“At our recent conference Gary had a quote on the screen and it said “You were born AWESOME. Please don’t die Average” and I can guarantee you Gary was NOT average, we’ll miss you, my friend.”
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