Maine Voices Live Waterville - Bill Nemitz and Joseph Owen

The occasion of Maine’s bicentennial has elevated diverse stories of the state’s natural, human and political histories. Join us for an evening to learn about common threads and what makes our state unique.

Bill Nemitz has worked as a journalist in Maine since 1977, when he became a reporter for the Morning Sentinel in Waterville. He began writing his popular Portland Press Herald column in 1995. His work has taken him three times to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan, where he was embedded with members of the Maine Army National Guard and the Army Reserve; to Belfast, Northern Ireland, for the 1998 referendum on the Good Friday Peace Accord; to Manhattan for the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks; to the Gulf Coast for the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; and to Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. In 2015, Nemitz was inducted into the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame. Nemitz lives in Buxton with his wife, Andrea. They have five children.

Joseph Owen is the author of the daily feature “On this Date in Maine History,” which is running in recognition of Maine’s Bicentennial in the Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel, Sun Journal and Portland Press Herald. Before retiring, he worked on and off in Maine journalism for 40 years, starting out as a Kennebec Journal reporter then copyeditor and night editor for both central Maine newspapers and Portland Press Herald. In between stints at Maine papers, he was also a reporter for European Stars and Stripes in Germany for nine years (1985-95) and Pacific Stars & Stripes in Japan for four (1994-98). Joe is a longtime board member of the Kennebec Historical Society. He lives in Augusta.