Bill Guenzel grew up in Winnetka, Illinois, and currently resides in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. He majored in art history and design at Williams College and studied photography and filmmaking at Columbia College. He worked in the Chicago area movie business before relocating to Door County in the mid 1970s to embark upon a career in carpentry. A founding member of Great Northern Construction, he took leave to collaborate with other independent builders while helping his wife, Josephine, establish and maintain the Community Clinic of Door County.

My interest in Write On, Door County began with a casual conversation with longtime friend Anne Emerson, who was working with a small group of people to develop a county-wide initiative to focus on writing. We could name numerous venues available for the performing and visual arts but few options for people interested in learning how to write or advance their writing skills. She soon had me convinced in the abundant potential for developing programs aimed at writers of any ability coming from near and far.

When we became aware of the possibility of bringing Jerod Santek from the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis to Door County to lead this initiative, we knew we had found someone with national credentials to build our program. When I learned that two beautiful pieces of property were for sale in Juddville, I felt the stars had aligned and I leapt at the chance to purchase the land and help create a writing center that would be both locally loved and nationally recognized.