When I was a young reporter serving as Pocono Bureau Chief of The Express (now The Express-Times) in Easton in 1968, I became well acquainted with Bob Uguccioni, executive director of the Pocono Mountains Vacation Bureau (today known as the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau). Bob died earlier this month at the age of 87.

I had left my job as program, news and sports director at WVPO, the radio station in Stroudsburg. Because of the multiple hats I wore, the one I loved the most was that of news director. Since I was a news department of one at the radio station, I wanted to learn the news business through professionals who would brutally critique me and make me better. I knew to do that properly I had to go to a reputable newspaper.

I met Bob when he became executive director of the bureau in 1968. From 1960 when I first was covering news at the radio station until Bob became head of the promotional agency, getting information on the resort industry was a fragmented exercise in futility.

As you might suspect, having trustworthy news sources is a reporter’s bread-and-butter, but this is even more important when you’re the only journalist in town representing your newspaper. Being able to get news tips and being able to trust the information given by well-placed sources is paramount to doing this job successfully, particularly when you are competing with the hometown paper, in this case The Pocono Record in Stroudsburg.

A journalist needs to lay the groundwork for establishing a relationship with these potential sources. I am happy to say that Bob and I hit it off immediately. Having a last name of “Frassinelli” certainly did not hurt in interacting with a “Uguccioni.” Of course, the first thing I had to do was to learn how to pronounce his name correctly. Just for the record, it is “you-go-SEE-knee.” Purist Italians pronounce it “ooh-goo-CHEE-own-ee.”

We would frequently joke about how when I first started in radio, my Program Director Joe Whalen insisted that I change my air name to “Bruce Phillips” so people wouldn’t struggle with “Frassinelli.” Bob would say, “I wonder what name Joe would have for me if I were on the air.” Because Bob had the same issue with the pronunciation of his name as I did with mine, most people referred to him as “Bob” or “Mr. U.”

Chris Barrett, the president and CEO of the Visitors Bureau, issued this statement upon learning of Bob’s death: “He was more than a leader in our industry and the Pocono Mountains; he was a true friend, valued mentor and confidante to many who relied on his wisdom to confront challenges and to fully appreciate our wonderful business.”

That was the unique quality Bob had. He was a shameless promoter for the Poconos even after he retired following 40 years as the face of the organization. Until virtually his last breath, he supported the incredible growth of the area and its reinvention from at one time being the “honeymoon capital of the United States.”

As an aside, my former wife, Sylvia and I, had our honeymoon at the former Pocono Gardens Lodge in Paradise Township, Monroe County, whose outsized logo in front of the resort featured two smiling bears - Hubby and Chubby. (Hey, what can I tell you? It was 1963.) Yes, we had a heart-shaped bathtub in our suite, but that’s all the information you get about it.

When Bob took over the vacation bureau, it had a staff of three and a budget of about $100,000. Today, the visitors bureau has a staff of 35 and a budget of $8 million.

Under Bob’s leadership, the region enjoyed the development of Mount Airy Casino Resort and Great Wolf Lodge. Uguccioni also help spearhead the hotel room tax that now funds the region’s marketing efforts.

Bob told me the Poconos had undergone many ups and downs but was always successful in reinventing itself and taking care of customers. After flying became much more common, and couples flew off to Hawaii, the Caribbean and other islands, the Poconos transitioned into an all-season destination with the advent of skiing. Snowmaking equipment, first introduced at Big Boulder in Kidder Township, was a turning point in making the Poconos a first-rate winter-season destination.

I lost touch with Bob when I became publisher of a daily newspaper in New York state, but we reconnected upon my return to Pennsylvania in 2008. The guy always had a smile on his face and a thousand anecdotes about the Poconos.

As Chris Barrett said, “He was incredibly intelligent and good at reading people. He was very smart at understanding what the consumer wanted. You don’t see those kinds of folks anymore in the industry, and it’s definitely the end of an era.”

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com