TIFTON — Members of the Tift County Schools Board of Education took the time to show their appreciation for their staff, faculty, and community members at their most recent meeting.

The board paid respects to Beth Lewis, Jessica Walden, and the participants of the Mentor Teacher program during their June 12 meeting, thanking them for the hard work and dedication they’ve shown in service to the school system.

Chief information officer Dana Spurlin first recognized the faculty who had participated in the Mentor Teacher program, who took a fellow teacher under their wing for the 2024-2025 school year to guide them towards better instructors.

While many of were not present at the meeting due to the summer break, board members nonetheless expressed their gratitude to all of the teachers for their support.

Afterwards, the board presented both Lewis and Walden with Beyond the T Awards as commemoration of their efforts to go above and beyond for the students of Tift County.

Spurlin explained that Walden, who was unable to attend the meeting, had saved the life of a child that was choking, performing the Heimlich maneuver to aid them, while Lewis’s award came on the behalf of the Chamber Workforce Education Committee, a branch of the local chamber of commerce, to thank her for her years of service to the school system.