Terry Saban used to be a teacher. On Friday, the first lady of Alabama Football and the Nick’s Kids Foundation showed their appreciation for those currently in her former profession.

The charity held its 12th annual Teacher Excellence Awards Luncheon in Tuscaloosa.

“I’m a teacher, so I can relate to how hard their job is,” the woman affectionately known throughout the state as “Miss Terry” said. “And it’s not just the hours in the classroom. You have lesson plans and bulletin boards and papers to grade. And sometimes out students don’t show their appreciation until years later, and they realize how important their education was and how good their teachers were. So it is important and it makes me feel good to be able to say ‘Thank you’ to them.”

With Nick Saban on the road recruiting before Alabama faces Michigan on Jan. 1 in the College Football Playoff semifinal, Terry Saban ran the show for the presentation. Teachers from the Tuscaloosa area ate a barbecue lunch, before the RISE Center’s children’s bell choir performed to open the program.

After the music, which included a rendition of “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,” Saban took the microphone. She said she had recently read a book about Leonardo Da Vinci.

“Da Vinci was the first to make note of the ripple effect of a pebble that’s thrown into water,” she said. “And he wrote that the water doesn’t move. The water stays right where it is. The water that’s where the pebble entered is still there when the last ring leaves the pond, but it’s the energy that moves through the water.

“And I thought it was a great analogy for what you do with our students. When you impart knowledge, when you teach a lesson, when you give a hug or a smile, that is where it starts. And with that student, with that child, that ripple effect through their life, it benefits so many people.”

Nick and Terry Saban started the Nick’s Kids Foundation while the coach was at Michigan State. The non-profit primarily raises funds to donate to organizations that support children.

It has also built 20 Habitat for Humanity houses, one for each of Alabama’s national titles, along with another for the 2021 SEC championship and 2022 Sugar Bowl victory.

“And we’re hoping soon to have 21,” Terry Saban said before the program Friday.

Many of those in attendance weren’t just getting lunch. 51 local teachers received certificates and $500 in gift cards as awards.

Before the recognition was handed out, Saban had a guest speaker to introduce. Alabama golf coach Jay Seawell there was there, and though a self-described “knucklehead” as a student himself, he spoke for 10 minutes to thank the teachers in attendance for their hard work.

“You’re in charge of tomorrow’s leaders,” Seawell said. “And that is the greatest job in the history of the world. “Besides parenting, teachers are, y’all are the ones who are in charge of helping young people chase their dreams.”