This story has been updated because an earlier version contained an inaccuracy.
Conchita Owenby started as a pioneer. She was among the first women to earn a full athletic scholarship to Carson-Newman University and hasn’t stopped since.
She pursued a career in sports and education, started the girls’ basketball program at Pigeon Forge High School and served as its first coach. She eventually became the first female athletic director at a high school in Sevier County when Gatlinburg-Pittman hired her in 2017.
After nearly four decades in the Sevier County school system, Owenby bids farewell to the yard and its students.
In the late 1970s, she was recruited by the legendary Pat Summitt, Lady Vols coach play in Tennessee, but Owenby thought that stage was simply “too big” for her at the time.
“Women’s basketball was really at the forefront at that time,” she said. “I wanted to continue playing and I had the opportunity to go to Carson-Newman.”
She graduated and joined the Sevier County school system in 1985 to teach welfare and specialized biology, and coached several sports. She started at Seymour Elementary School, where she taught physical education, and a year later moved to Sevier County High School, her alma mater.
In the 39 years since, she has been named District 2AA Coach of the Year in 2003, inducted into the Sevier County High School Hall of Fame in 2004 and awarded the title of Coach of District 1 TSSAA AF Bridges year in 2005.
During his tenure, Gatlinburg-Pittman won 18 district championships, 11 regional championships and 15 state championships, including team and individual titles.
What she is most proud of is the connections she has made with her students and the opportunity to coach her two daughters.
“I was very proud to coach my girls,” Owenby said. “I had the opportunity to coach both of them in high school and that, of course, remains an unforgettable memory. But what I am most proud of is seeing how excited the athletes are when they come together and succeed at something. They see that they are a big and important part of something.
Both of her parents were good athletes, but it was her elementary school coach who inspired her to commit to a sporting life.
“I was just a little fourth grader sitting in the stands. My older sister had decided to try basketball, and (her coach) saw me sitting in the stands and took me out and m ‘said, ‘Do you play basketball?'” Owenby said. “And I said no. I was just in fourth grade. He said, ‘Well, you do it now. Get out of here.'”
There was no going back.
At a Dec. 12 celebration of Owenby and his career, current and former students lined up to give him hugs and wish him well in retirement. It led her to reflect on the past and offer some simple advice learned over decades of ups and downs.
“Never underestimate yourself or give up on a dream,” she said.
She wishes her successor good luck and leaves a heavy burden to fulfill.
“Be the hardest working person in school,” she said. “Adopt the attitude that no job is beneath you and be willing to do anything to help yourself, and that should be your primary job: helping your coaches and helping your athletes by being a servant.”
An earlier version of this article mistakenly listed the wrong school in a reference to Owenby’s tenure as athletic director.
Areena Aroradata and investigative reporter for Knox News, can be reached by email at areena.arora@knoxnews.com. Follow her onAreenaArora And on Instagram @areena_news.