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David R. Evans, CHME, a hospitality industry icon, passed away on Aug. 22, at the age of 86, at Overlake Medical Center, in Bellevue, Washington. Evans was a 22-year heart transplant survivor who leaves behind a sister, Vicie; three sons, Greg (and wife Lynn), Chris (and wife Susan), and Jeff; two granddaughters, Haeli Hagen and Hannah; and a grandson, Tanner.
A longtime PCMA volunteer leader, Evans served as chairman of the PCMA Foundation board in 1994 and was inducted in the Events Industry Council Hall of Leaders in 1995.
Evans’ career spanned more than 40 years with Starwood Hotels and Resorts in sales and marketing roles. At the time he retired in 2000, Evans was senior vice president of global sales and marketing at Starwood. Several years later, he founded David R. Evans & Associates, providing sales and marketing consulting.
Convene last spoke with Evans in late 2020 after he published his book, Yield to the Power of Common Sense, in which he shared a story about how he introduced a CSR initiative at PCMA’s Annual Meeting in 1994 — the purchase of a premie respirator for a local hospital.
According to his bio on the EIC Hall of Leaders page, Evans was instrumental in publishing another book during the 1990s — Winning With Diversity — which he partnered on with several professional associations to address diversity issues in the industry.
“I am saddened by the news of Dave’s passing,” said PCMA President & CEO Sherrif Karamat. “I have a lot of wonderful memories of Dave. He was a true pioneer for diversity more than 30 years ago when it wasn’t discussed much in the industry. We owe him a debt of gratitude for his support of PCMA and all he did to promote education, raise up the events industry, and give back to society.”