When Jack Robertson, Faulkner State Athletic Director and head basketball coach, opened a special athletic department meeting Monday and announced he was retiring those in attendance were shocked. Roberston, however, was only joking, much to the relief of his co-workers.

The purpose of the meeting was to honor head baseball coach Wayne Larker and cheerleading coach Celeste Robertson for their accomplisments during the 2009-10 school year. Larker and Roberston were honored with a legislative resolution passed by the Alabama Senate and house of Representatives and signed by Gov. Bob Riley. Rep. Harry Shiver (R-Bay Minette) presented the resolution.
Larker'sguided the Sun Chiefs tothe Alabama Community College Conference title and finished sixth at the JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado, while Celeste Robertson's cheerleading squad won the LTD Small Coed College national championship, its second consecutive national crown.

"What Harry did is great and long overdue for these people," Jack Robertson said. "They deserve all the recognition and the people in Bay Minette and the surrounding areas need to be proud of them. They went out and represented us really well and I want the people to know about and understand what a great job they did."

Larker hascoached Faulkner Stateto three ACCC titles during his 25 years. The Sun Chiefs' trip to the 10-team World Series was the first in school history.

"It came out of nowhere; it's a surprise," he said of the resolution. "We have been doing some good things at Faulkner with all our programs. We've been affecting a lot of young kids' lives. I think that's the main part. When you look at our coaches, they've been here a long time. We have a steady athletic program. I think we do some good things to help these kids get to the places they're going and help them in life. The athletic program is just a way to help these kids come through here. I talk to a lot of my ex-players and they look back on Faulkner as one of the best times of their lives."

Celeste Robertson capped her fifth season with the Faulkner cheer team defending its title against a field of 25-plus schools in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

"It's a big surprise; I didn't know anything about this presentation," she said. "My kids deserve all the credit for the competition. We work year-round, support the athletics and compete in March for the nationals. We plan on going back again this year and are looking forward to big things again."

"I'm just real proud of both Celeste and Wayne for an outstanding job,"Robertson said. "They got a tremendous amount of publicity for Baldwin County, Bay Minette and Faulkner State. (The letters) really make me proud. Winning games is part of it, of course, but getting those letters is very rewarding."