Bruce Reese has died, according to an email to employees from Bonneville International President Darrell K. Brown.
“We are grateful for Bruce’s service to Bonneville and his commitment to community,” Brown wrote in the email. The National Association of Broadcasters also released a statement from NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith.
“NAB and the entire broadcast industry is saddened to hear of the passing of our friend and former Bonneville President Bruce Reese,” Smith said. “Bruce’s accomplishments in broadcasting — former NAB Joint Board Chair, former National Radio Award Winner and chair of the NAB Education Foundation — were surpassed only by his commitment to charity and community service. Broadcasting is a better business and the world was a better place because of my friend Bruce Reese.”
Bruce also served as a director of the Associated Press.
[Reese Tells Lawmakers: ‘Unreasonable’ Royalties Need to Go]
Reese was a lawyer by trade and training; he once characterized his trajectory to the radio industry as a series of “happy accidents.” He joined Bonneville in 1984 as the company’s general counsel in 1984 and was named president in 1996, a role he held until 2010.
In April 2011, St. Paul-based Hubbard Radio acquired 17 radio stations from Bonneville International and Reese was named Hubbard president and CEO. In July 2014, Reese passed the reins to Hubbard CEO and Chair Ginny Morris.
According to Brown’s email, funeral arrangements have not been shared. Reese is survived by his wife, seven children, daughters- and sons-in-law and grandchildren.
