A mix of ten extraordinary educators and citizens who have served to enlighten members of the Branford community have been named to the Branford Education Hall of Fame (BEHF) Class of 2019. Fans, friends and supporters are encouraged to come out to celebrate the BEHF Class of 2019, when members are recognized for their outstanding contributions to education at a dinner in their honor on Thurs. April 25, at Woodwinds of Branford. To reserve tickets for the dinner, on sale now, go to www.branfordeducationhalloffame.com

The members of the BEHF Class of 2019 are, in alphabetical order:

Anita R. Case, elementary teacher at Mary T. Murphy School; Phoebe G. Chandler and The Martin Luther King Breakfast Committee; Robin Comey, Executive Director, Branford Early Childhood Collaborative; Maria Marini DeStefanis, foreign language teacher at Walsh Intermediate School (WIS); Paul Freund, math teacher at WIS and Branford High School (BHS); Mitch Laska, project manager of technology, WIS and BHS; Judy Spaar, elementary teacher at John B. Sliney School; Ginger Vickstrom, Director of Branford School Age Child Care (SAAC); Salvatore Alessandro Zarra, math teacher at BHS Horizons Program, and (posthumously) Anthony "Tut" DeFrancesco, teacher and administrator in Milford and assessor for BHS Senior Exhibition Program.

BEHF nominations are submitted annually by the public and inductees are selected by vote during a public meeting. The Class of 2019 marks the 22nd BEHF class to be inducted. The ten will join a roster of over 200 Hall of Famers listed, by year, at the BEHF website. The site, which also serves as a virtual Hall of Fame, includes biographies and photos of Hall of Fame members. Each year, new inductees' names are also inscribed on bookplates in books donated to Branford Public School libraries annually through BEHF's "Susan Spear Book Project."