During the months of April and May, I have the painful pleasure of keeping a few extra dollars in my bank account.

Everything known to man, woman, child and a select colony of gerbils seemingly is scheduled in those two months. Virtually all of the groups and organizations in our community have events – sometimes multiple ones. When they have gatherings, hootenannies and bonafided shindigs, those are just there own Boot Scootin’ Boogies, but all those certifiable throwdowns have to be on my radar.

Each one has its own significance.

So how does this save me a little bit of cash? Keeping all those individual moments in the sun organized in my mind and on my calendar prompts me to yank the hair out of my head.

Necessity for a haircut: Problem (painfully) solved.

It is busy in April and May. A very, very packed 61 days.

Frantically making it from one stop to another certainly keeps me from needing to add an extra hole in my belt. These two months keep me slim and trim.

With a community that shows an invigoration during the spring, it can become overwhelming for my staff and me. Without subdividing into a litany of mini-me’s, it can be difficult. But all this coming and going does have its perks.

It is imperative and a pleasure for me each year to sit down and talk to the high school graduating class’ valedictorian and salutatorian. These No. 1 and No. 2 academically ranked students prove by example what makes our educational system a step above the rest.

Now these teenage leaders over the years each have had their own distinct personalities. Some were so meek you wonder how they answered questions aloud in the classroom, while others could upstage the featured act in Las Vegas.

Some were not only intelligent, but also athletic. Others, however, would rather not work up a sweat running around the track.

Some were extremely active outside the classroom setting, while others, at least on paper, had forgone intense mission trips halfway around the world.

Although each of these female and male students were vastly different, they, each and every one, were truly compelling individuals. They, like many of their graduating classmates, have what it takes to make a gigantic impact on the world.

At the baccalaureate service Sunday evening, Allan Jones, First Baptist’s minister of youth, gave Class of 2009 a “charge,” or, as I like to call it, “the get off your duffs and make something of yourself to benefit society while, at the same time, making your family even more proud of you” pep talk.

During his motivational declaration for the seniors who will receive their diplomas Friday night, Jones reminded the graduating seniors not to forget two people – 1) The Savior Jesus Christ and 2) Your Momma.

I would like to add a “No. 3” to that list – “Mommas Who Are Not Your Biological Mommas, But Reached ‘Momma’ Status Inside The School Classroom.”

Both Jase Doyle and Eric Boddiford, this year’s valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively, have wonderful and supportive families with exemplary mothers, but they admit they also have at-school moms.

When you grow up in Screven County, your parents and you personally sometimes develop close relationships with the local veteran educators. A teacher, like high school instructor Tommie Evans, wants her students to do well in a way a mother wants her own children to succeed.

“If you make bad on a test, you feel like you let your Momma down,” said Boddiford of Evans, who taught Boddiford in the never-easy subject of Advanced Placement chemistry.

Doyle echoed Boddiford’s sentiments.

“I wanted to make a ‘5’ so I wouldn’t disappoint her,” said Doyle, who too loaded up on high-level AP courses.

A “5” is the highest grade a student can earn in an AP course. That “5” is equivalent to an “A” in college.

Evans was selected as this year’s STAR Teacher by STAR Student Jim Freeman, who ranks third academically in the 2009 senior class. Freeman chose Evans because she is an excellent educator who knows how to teach.

In her class, Evans tells stories that help her students retain knowledge on a very complex subject.

It is all about learning the material.

“When they look good, I look good,” Evans said. “Everybody wins.”

The 30-year teaching veteran even uses references to mighty tasty chocolate chip cookies to help explain complexity of science. That would get my attention.

“There is a fine line. A comfort zone. You have to be a salesperson on your curriculum and you’ve got to get them to want what you are selling,” Evans said.

“Teacher Dads” definitely have their place in the educational equation too, but a student cannot forget “Momma.”

In-school Mommas help build the foundations of a successful college student, a dependable employee, compassionate parent and a wise grandparent.

We cannot forget our Mommas.

I believe I will see if I can telephone my own high school Momma, Mrs. Barnett, just to tell her “Thank you. Your mothering wasn’t wasted. I turned out OK.”

Enoch Autry is the publisher-editor of the Sylvania Telephone.