POCONO MOUNTAINS, Pa., – January 14, 2015 –The Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau (PMVB) held their Annual Holiday Dinner last month, at Mount Airy Casino Resort. The event brought together community officials and local tourism leaders to celebrate the holiday season, reflect on the accomplishments of the industry throughout the year and look toward the year ahead.

In the tradition of holiday giving the PMVB finalized an endowment to East Stroudsburg University that will provide scholarships to students studying Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management. The Bob Uguccioni Endowed Scholarship Fund is established to perpetuate the legacy of Bob Uguccioni, who served as Executive Director of the PMVB for over 40 years, and ensure the future success of Pocono Mountains tourism. Nearly 35% of the workforce in the four-county region is employed in the tourism and hospitality industry and generates almost half of the labor income. Nearly $40,000 has been raised for the endowed scholarship fund.

“This endowment will help prepare students who plan to enter the expanding Pocono Mountains tourism industry,” said Carl Wilgus, President and CEO of the PMVB. “We are going to need the best and the brightest young minds to deliver the Pocono Mountains brand. The region is growing, our future is bright!”

The first look into the region’s immediate future is through the new winter cooperative advertising campaign. The winter campaign, began running in December and is visible within the metropolitan areas of New York City and Philadelphia, as well as along their major arteries and the New Jersey Transit system. The campaign features static billboards and Interior Rail Cards and Platform Posters from the PMVB and 10 leading regional partners, including Blue Mountain Ski Area, Camelback Mountain, Cove Pocono Resorts, Fernwood Resort, Great Wolf Lodge, The Inn at Pocono Manor, Kalahari Resorts and Conventions, Shawnee Mountain Ski Area, The PMVB Ski Committee and Woodloch Resort.

Commercials from four partners, Camelback Mountain, Cove Pocono Resorts, Great Wolf Lodge and Kalahari Resorts and Conventions and Live Pocono Mountains Web Cam Feeds will air on WCBS, WNBC, WPIX and WTXF through the winter. The Live Web Cameras are also available in a new, redesigned format on the PMVB’s website. The new layout allows visitors to see more clearly the locations of the cameras throughout the region.

The campaign is expected to reach and increase visitation to the four-county destination by capturing the energy and natural elements of the destination. Participate in our social media engagement with Twitter (@PoconoTourism) and Facebook (facebook.com/poconotourism) by tweeting and posting photographs of the campaign and share your own Pocono Mountains photos on Instagram with the hashtag #TakeONPocono.

About the Pocono Mountains | Pocono Mountains visitor information is available online at PoconoMountains.com or by phone at 800-POCONOS (800-762-6667). Follow PoconoTourism on Facebook and Twitter to stay current with up-to-date information. Established in 1934, the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau is a private, non-profit, membership organization. The Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau is the official destination marketing organization for the four counties of Carbon, Monroe, Pike and Wayne in northeastern Pennsylvania, striving to promote, educate and attract visitors to the beautiful Pocono Mountains. Additionally, the Bureau aims to keep its’ members abreast to the latest in regulation, changes in the industry and business development in the Pocono Mountains.

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