Tony Carey, CMP, CMM, U.K.-based writer, speaker, and consultant to the international meetings industry, died on June 2 at the age of 69 after a battle with cancer.

Carey, a fixture at Meeting Professionals International meetings, helped to create the U.K. Chapter of MPI. He was the first non-North American to chair MPI’s International Education Committee and subsequently completed a three-year term on the international board of directors.

In 1985, he set up the only annual course on meeting planning in the U.K., which he taught for 20 years. He made presentations about meeting planning in more than 130 cities around the globe. Known and loved for his irreverent wit and positive attitude, Tony wrote a popular column for MPI’s magazine One +. For an insight into his self-deprecating humor, visit his Web site, where he wrote about his career.

Carey was a regular contributor to his local BBC radio program on his beloved island of Guernsey and an ambassador for the island, located in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy. He is survived by his wife Barbara, three sons, and grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at St. Peter's Parish Church, Guernsey, on June 12 at 2 p.m.

Colleagues and friends are encouraged to share their remembrances on the MPI Blog Web site as well as on Tony’s Facebook page.