In November, ahead of hosting dozens of veterans at their school for Veterans Day, students and staff of the Branford High School (BHS) Horizons program walked from the school to nearby Corcoran-Sundquist American Legion Post 83 Hall on North Main Street, where the group gave back with community service in the form of a fantastic fall clean up, said Post 83 president Donald Langlois.

The welcome spruce-up arrived ahead of what Langlois is anticipating to be busy year for Post 83, which will join the national organization in marking the 100th anniversary of the American Legion in 2019.

"The American Legion Post 83 in Branford wants to thank Branford High School and all the Horizon students and staff for a fantastic job they did on the fall clean up of our Post," said Langlois. "They gave a deep fall cleaning to the inside and out."

An inside crew not only broke down and washed all tables and chairs and cleaned windows inside and out, but also "...put a clear shine on hundreds of beloved historical photos," said Langlois.

The outside crew performed maintenanace, debris removal and renewed planters with fresh annuals.

In statement shared with Zip06/The Sound, the Horizons staff noted, "...students dug into landscape and maintenance work to freshen up the facility inside and out, to ready it for the fall and winter functions and events. The Horizons Program is proud of their relationship with the veterans and look forward to their interactions with the men and women who served our country."

The students then hosted area veterans on Monday, November 12, in recognition of Veterans Day, when visiting military service members were honored with a warm welcome by the BHS student body during the 2018 BHS Anthony "Bob" Bescher Veterans Appreciation Day program.

For the 21st year, the program, organized by BHS Horizons and BHS Student Council, invited a large group of local war veterans and present-day military members to the school. This year's program included those from the Korean War, Vietnam War and Cold War eras, as well as those from actions in the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan. A morning school assembly to greet the honored guests was followed by break-out sessions in small group presentations based on each action where students heard from military about their experiences.