Vanessa León New Public Affairs Officer

LINCOLNTON––Former Spectrum News on-air reporter Vanessa León is Lincoln County’s new public affairs officer.

That’s the word Tuesday from County spokeswoman Candy Stevens. And Lincoln County Manager Davin Madden made the announcement about León’s new position, which was effective as of Monday.

A graduate of Bandys High School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and broadcasting, León started with Spectrum News some 13 years ago. Working as a producer for News-14 in Charlotte evolved into reporting and anchoring for the station. During her time as a reporter for Spectrum, she earned the “Multi-Media Reporter of the Year” award from the Radio Television Digital News Association in 2020 and again in ’21. An Emmy-nominated reporter, León has covered countless stories all over North Carolina, including many within Lincoln County.

When she was young, León moved from Costa Rica with her family. Most of the time since then, she has resided in Lincoln County, where she lives today with her husband and two daughters. In her spare time, León enjoys staying active. She teaches fitness classes and has been a longtime volunteer soccer coach for Lincolnton Parks and Recreation.

“Stepping into this new role as public affairs officer is exciting and rewarding,” she said. “I am honored to be a part of the community in which I have grown up and where I have chosen to raise my family. I love Lincoln County, the people and the community that make this a great place to live and now work. I look forward to helping tell the great things our County leaders and staffers are working at to continue to grow our community.”

Madden extolled León for her abilities.

“Vanessa brings a broad degree of experience and knowledge regarding journalism and communications,” he said. “We are excited to expand our ability to reach the community by utilizing her skills and professionalism. She offers a new component to our team, and we look forward to providing Lincoln County citizens more transparency, informative outreach and enhanced emergency communication.”

Madden added that the role of public affairs is a new one for Lincoln County. eón will develop and maintain working relationships with the county’s local leaders, organizations, media and residents.