Honoring Coach Wayne Owens

05/20/2025

What a great evening for Valdese. Thank you!

03/28/2025

A very well-deserved honor for Coach Murray!

Today we are honored to introduce Coach Jerry Murray as an inductee in the Class of 2025.

Coach Murray participated in football, basketball, and baseball as a student at Valdese High School. He is credited with starting the first swim team at the Valdese Community Center. After college, he dedicated thirty years to teaching chemistry and physics and coaching six sports—football, girls' basketball, baseball, track, wrestling, and golf—at Valdese and East Burke High Schools, earning two conference championships and Coach of the Year awards. He initiated the wrestling program at Valdese High and is a key figure in founding Burke County's wrestling program. Murray was inducted into the East Burke High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.

12/09/2023

Some pictures from this morning!

12/09/2023

Today is a great day. We host our first games for our youth basketball programs in the Wayne Owens Gymnasium!

First 🏀 games to be played today at the new Wayne Owens Gymnasium

First game to tip at 9:00

05/26/2023

Last night, Coach Wayne Owens was inducted in to the Burke County Sports Hall of Fame with Jimmy Powell and Gary Leonhardt. It was a moving event, and it wouldn't have happened without your support! Thank you to Joe Brown and David Brinkley for their hard work and tributes last night, and thank you to members of Coach Owens' family for attending. Also in attendance were many who had coached with or been coached by Coach Owens. What a night!

04/30/2023

So thankful. If posting any pictures from the event, please tag us!

04/28/2023

Tomorrow morning at our dedication and open house, we will be having a silent auction for this bench, created by our own staff member Alex Bustle. It is solid maple and made from planks of the old floor, and has Coach Owens signature on the side.

Check out his other works at Out of the Wood - works. He also was the mastermind behind our soon to be completed donor wall, and he will be making more items to benefit the project over the next few weeks.

04/28/2023

Tomorrow is our big dedication at 10am! We look forward to seeing everyone at "the Gym!"

04/27/2023

04/22/2023

We're one week away from our Gymnasium dedication at the Valdese Community Center. We invite you to come and share the excitement as we honor Coach Owens. The speakers will begin at 10am. Join us!

04/16/2023

Please join us for this exciting event! We can't wait to show what we've been up to!