Mrs. Congeniality
Vanessa Mullinix is a welcome fixture in her North Carolina town, modeling neighborliness everywhere she goes.
Newcomers to our 106-year-old North Carolina town are frequently asked, “How’d you find Badin?” They often answer, “We stumbled on it. And then we met Vanessa.”
A telltale chuckle confirms what most everyone here knows—Vanessa Mullinix is Badin’s Mrs. Congeniality.
Vanessa lives beyond the Badin town line and can’t vote or run for office. But she has worked in our community for 25 years, first at the neighboring aluminum plant, then as an entrepreneur in the fence business. For the past eight years she has operated Cottage House Antiques. With a shop in the heart of our village, Vanessa is a sort of one-stop welcome wagon for visitors. On weekends the store frequently fills with residents and tourists mingling and chatting and,
sometimes, even shopping.
No task is too menial and no dream is too great for Vanessa. She renovated a circa-1919 former boardinghouse in the neighborhood with the help of two friends and a skilled carpenter. Whether tearing out walls, sanding old doors or choosing drapery fabrics, Vanessa was hands-on the entire time.
At the project’s end, Vanessa was delighted to host a luncheon for three granddaughters of the original owner—a great example of her generosity. The house now hosts both weekend visitors and local meetings.
Many folks around town are known for their hard work, but Vanessa’s passion for making Badin shine keeps her involved in many ways. She loves our adjacent natural spaces and recently joined the Morrow Mountain State Park staff in hosting Old-Fashioned Day, which drew several thousand visitors. She helped enlist vendors, exhibitors and volunteers, then kept them all fed with barbecue and fixings during the event. Vanessa also initiated other projects in the park, including the restoration of the stone wall entrance.
For 20 years Vanessa has participated in Better Badin, a group dedicated to improving our town. Whenever possible, she joins the town leaders in planning events or celebrations, including many activities for Badin’s centennial.
Vanessa is a dreamer and a doer. She can act as the head or hands of any project—but she is always the heart.
Vanessa is a sort of one-stop welcome wagon for visitors.