George Mitchell, who represented Maine in the United States Senate from 1980 until the start of 1995, will return to his home state to give a keynote speech at the Natural Resources Council of Maine's (NRCM) annual meeting.

In recent years, Mitchell has held leadership positions at the global law firm DLA Piper and the Walk Disney company. He has also investigated steroids in baseball and served as a special envoy for America in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

This year's NRCM theme is “Finding Common Ground to Protect our Planet.” The event is free and open to the public and it will be held on Friday, September 23, 2011 at the University of Southern Maine's Hannaford Hall.

After the speech, NRCM will announce the winners of its annual environmental awards. Members of the organization will also vote on candidates for its Board of Directors.

If you'd like to RSVP, go to the NRCM's website.