NEWTON — Catawba County has hired Virginia Annable as Communications and Marketing Director, with a start date of Oct. 19, 2026, the county announced Monday.
Annable will work in the County Manager’s Office and lead countywide public information and education work — the office that explains county services, programs, and priorities to residents.
County Manager Mary Furtado said Annable’s career has centered on getting information to the public clearly.
“Virginia has built her career by sharing information with the public in a way that consistently builds connection and gets the message across. We are excited to welcome her to the Catawba County team so she can help amplify our story and share our good work in a way that reaches our citizens and engages them where they are,” Furtado said in the county’s release.
According to the county, Annable has more than a decade of local and regional journalism experience. Her most recent role was editor of Lee Enterprises newspapers serving Hickory and surrounding communities. The county said she previously covered city and county government as a reporter and investigative reporter for Lee Enterprises before moving into editor and managing editor roles. Other newsrooms on her path, as listed by the county, include The News Herald, The McDowell News, Mooresville Tribune, the Lenoir News-Topic, and WUFT News (NPR/PBS) in Gainesville, Florida.
“I am excited to join this team and tell Catawba County’s story. Through my work in local news, I have learned the important role local government plays in our lives. I look forward to being a part of it in my next role,” Annable said. “I care deeply about this community and look forward to serving the public by helping people stay informed about and connected to their local government.”
Annable holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Florida and a master’s degree in digital communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She lives in Morganton, the county said.
The county’s Monday post does not name who previously held the communications director job or what Annable’s salary will be.
Source note
Facts and quotes in this article are taken from the official Catawba County news release Annable Joins Catawba County as Communications and Marketing Director (published Sept. 28, 2026). Catawba First News searched its own site for prior Annable coverage before publication; none found.
Cover: Virginia Annable. Photo: Catawba County.
