Former Bear Basketball great Robert "Tee" Felder has multiple accomplishments under his belt such as Southwest Athletics Hall of Fame, State Championship runner up and Honorable Mention All-State to name a few. And just recently, he added another as he was inducted into the Mississippi Junior College Hall of Fame on Tuesday. Felder was one of 15 honorees (one representing each state JUCO) at the annual event which took place at the Muse Center in Pearl.

Felder admits when he first heard of the news, it was a bit difficult to believe.

"Dr. (Steve) Bishop called me and said 'Tee, you are being inducted in the Junior College Hall of Fame.' And he is always kidding with me so I thought that he was joking!" Felder said jokingly. "But I came to find out later that it was true with what he was saying."

And when he realized that it was indeed true, Felder felt several emotions.

"I was overwhelmed, I was excited," he said. "By the same token, I couldn't believe it. I didn't see me being inducted."

Felder made his mark during his time in Summit. He starred on the hardwood helping to lead a team that finished runners up during his freshman year. The next year, he was recognized individually with his All-Conference honor.

He admits that a great deal of his success that he found at Southwest came as a result of the influence of someone he met while in high school.

"It started at McComb High School under Coach Bobby Nelson," Felder said. "He was not only a good coach but he was a mentor as well. I learned a lot through him and by that it carried over into my college career."

Felder admitted that being inducted in the Mississippi JUCO Hall of Fame is special but it is not his first hall of fame honor as he was also previously inducted in the McComb High School Athletics Hall of Fame as well as the Southwest Athletics Hall of Fame.

While he was making a name for himself on the basketball court at Southwest, Felder was also trying to earn a degree. He said that he started studying electronics but made the switch to welding. The switch proved beneficial as once he graduated from Southwest in 1977, he took a job in Pascagoula as a welder at Ingalls and Avondale Shipyards.

In 1982, his mother Ruby Garner-Felder became ill which prompted Felder to move back to his hometown to care for her. She unfortunately passed away a year later.

While home, Felder took a job at Southwest working in the grounds department. He stayed at Southwest for forty years, working for three presidents: the late Dr. Horace Holmes, his basketball coach Dr. Oliver Young and Dr. Steve Bishop.

"Southwest is family," he said. "When I came back home, I went to Jerry Reid who was dean at the time and I told him that I was looking for a job. He said that we don't have any openings that is like what you were doing but we can put you to work. Ever since then, it was been history. I was fortunate to work there for 40 years."

Reflecting on his life, Felder is very grateful of the path he chose and the blessings he received along the way that helped him get recognized for his success.

"Looking back, I've always been a humble person and the Bible speaks of being humble," he said. "I say to myself, a lot of these accomplishments that I've gotten, it is not because of me but because God has been good to me."

Unfortunately, in 2010, Felder's wife Mamie Jean Felder-Horbys passed away. Felder said that she would have been very happy to see her husband get honored with his latest hall of fame induction.

"She would be overjoyed," he said. "We would always be for each other, sort of boosting each other up. We were our best fans, she was always my biggest cheerleader."

Present day, Felder gives back, serving on the Board of Deacons at Mt. Herman Missionary Baptist Church, is a member of the Mississippi and East Louisiana Deacon Institute and teaches Sunday school.

He said that he is proud to give back to his community and his inspiration for doing so came during his time working at Southwest.

"I had the opportunity to speak to the students from time to time," he said. "It is amazing, sometimes kids would come back and say 'Mr. Felder, do you remember when I was in school and you helped me do this and that.' You have no idea that you were doing those things but by the Grace of God, you were doing them."

Felder and his late wife are the parents of three daughters: Kiffany, Renada and Ebonee and the grandparents of five and great-grandparents of four. Felder adds that his daughters were thrilled to hear that he would be recognized once again.

"They said 'Dad, after all of these years, you are getting all of these awards!'" he said. "It is not because of me it is because of God. A couple of my grandkids were there and they were enthused as well. It was a happy moment for this family."

To this day, Felder still shows his deep love of Southwest Athletics attending multiple games each year.

Felder is the 22^nd former Bear to be inducted into the Mississippi JUCO Hall of Fame since 2007.