Aaron Thomas is leaving his hometown TV station in Raleigh, North Carolina, to co-anchor weekends with Lindsay Stone at WLWT-TV. She has been anchoring solo since Courtis Fuller retired last August.
“This wasn’t an easy decision. Reporting for my hometown TV station has been a blessing and a dream fulfilled. YEARS of prayer and self-reflection led to the conclusion that it’s time for a new challenge,” Thomas wrote on Facebook June 16, his last day at the NBC affiliate. “God’s plan > my plan.”
The 2014 graduate of North Carolina State University will join the Channel 5 anchor desk in July.
At WRAL-TV, he was the lead night side reporter with “a wide range of experience covering breaking news, severe weather, crime, education, sports and human-interest stories,” according to the WLWT-TV announcement. He received two Emmy Awards for his coverage of the 2023 UNC campus shooting.
“We’re excited to have Aaron joining the WLWT News 5 team. His experience covering breaking news and severe weather will be a tremendous asset for our viewers,” said Jeff Benscoter, Channel 5 news director.
Thomas also has a wide range of experience outside a TV newsroom. He was the stadium announcer for the NC State Wolfpack marching band; traveled the country before his senior year in college to tutor high school drum majors for Fred Miller Inc., based in Miamisburg, Ohio; and trained McDonald’s crews in Fuquay-Varina, N.C., for five years while in high school and college.
The 2010 Harnett Central High School graduate started his TV career at WTAJ-TV (2015-17) in State College, Pennsylvania, where he covered Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day. He was a reporter and fill-in anchor at WRIC-TV in Richmond, Virginia (2017-19) before spending six years in Raleigh.
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