After 50 Years, Alex Palluzzi Jr. Has Retired From Town's Parks & Rec

BRANFORD, CT — And so it's officially official. But you know Alex Palluzzi, Jr., despite officially retiring after 50 years of service, won't be far. You'll see him around town as if nothing had changed. But it has.

After a decade of always being there as Parks & Rec department director for 32 of those 50 years, in August, Palluzzi penned his letter.

Read that story here >> After Nearly A Half Century Of Service To Town, Palluzzi Retiring

Dear Board of Recreation, With a heavy heart, please accept this letter as a formal notice of my retirement, effective Tuesday, December 31, 2024.

...Approaching fifty years of employment at Branford Parks & Rec., and forty-three years full time, respectively, I am forever grateful for the opportunity to serve. We have an exceptional team and would not be what we are today without each and every one our staff. They are creative, innovative, talented, and hardworking.

The Town of Branford is blessed to have their service. I am so proud of each individual staffer and know they will do great things in the future to continue the excellent programs, activities, and special events that Branford has come to expect, serving all the residents of Branford, birth to seniors..."

Today is his very last day.

"It’s officially an end to an incredible era!

Thank you Alex for 50 years of dedicated service to our Town, 32 of which have been Director of the Parks and Rec Department. Your leadership has steered this department towards a great future and we cannot thank you enough for what you’ve done to us and our wonderful community for the last five decades (especially the amount of trash you’ve helped picked up around town, which earned you the Golden Trash Bucket & Picker! ).

We’re proud to dedicate the front bench to the Community House in your honor where all of your important phone calls and friendly conversations with the public were held as well as naming the one way entrance into the parking lot “APJR WAY”.

Leadership is not about being the best, but it’s about making others better. And that’s why Alex would always say to those, “Be The Best That You Can Be”

Enjoy your retirement! You will be missed, but we know you won’t be that far away."