It truly has been a privilege writing for The Boothbay Register. For a brief time, I covered all four towns, but my primary coverage area is Boothbay, Southport and Edgecomb.

I’ve always been interested in the news. As a young child, I watched the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite with my parents. I vividly remember stories about the Vietnam War, resignation of a president, “the Boat People,” and Patty Hearst.

But a future in the communication industry was an unlikely one for me. Until I was 23 years old, I struggled to complete a sentence without stuttering. Following college, I struggled to find work and bounced around from various jobs. In 1998, my speech improved enough to find work in telemarketing making outbound sales calls.

I did well enough to take a big step to work for credit card giant MBNA in Belfast. I worked in sales, marketing, and retention for seven years. And yes, I can tell you why your 29.98% credit card rate is the most appropriate for your situation.

I learned a lot in tele-sales and enjoyed it for the most part. But in 2011, I decided to give journalism another shot. I’ve worked at Sebasticook Times in Newport, The Piscataquis Observer in Dover-Foxcroft, Calais Advertiser and Ellsworth American.

As a reporter, my strength is the ability to tell a story. I’ve won numerous Maine Press Association awards, but the best story I ever wrote is not one which won an award. In 2015, I wrote a fantastic Valentine’s Day story about Al and Shirley Sirois. The story’s headline was “East Boothbay Couple Finds Love Planning their 50th High School Reunion.” Al and Shirley were in the same high school class in Massachusetts. They weren’t in the same social circles and married other people. They were both widowed when they connected planning their 50th reunion, and eventually married.

Another favorite was also written in 2015. Henry Rowe was a CIA agent who invented “spy gadgets.” His most famous invention was the “Jack in the Box.” Rowe invented an inflatable dummy stored in a briefcase. Rowe explained the invention allowed him to be in two places at the same time. People in the Boothbay region know Henry was quite a character, and this was my first encounter with him which I enjoyed immensely.

Local journalism is an interesting job. You meet many people you don’t ordinarily meet. One was NBC News journalist Harry Smith. I found him to be a really nice guy. I also wrote about Gov. Paul LePage and Ann LePage working at McSeagulls which was a big thrill.

Another memorable experience occurred playing tennis and I met a summer couple who read the Boothbay Register. Once the wife was introduced to me, she was "amazed" she finally met the guy who writes the articles. It made my day.