Today at the annual conference of Massachusetts Coalition for Adult Education (MCAE), Joanne Appleton Arnaud will be honored as Adult Educator of the Year.

Joanne retired in June from First Literacy, the Boston-based nonprofit that helps Greater Boston adults get basic education to improve their lives and those of their children. She was the first executive director of First Literacy, which was started by a coalition of business leaders and nonprofits. Originally, it was called the Boston Adult Literacy Fund.

In her quasi-retirement, Joanne has just finished her first grant proposal and is helping a group of literacy programs in Boston to think about ways to develop funding sources that are stable and noncompetitive. "For community-based nonprofits, sources of funding tend to be very limited," Joanne says. "Often very worthy organizations are competing against each other. We're trying to see if there are sources of funding where groups could work together."

Joanne also has been elected to the board of the MCAE, which, she says, is "more lastingly important than an award."

After the awards lunch in Westborough, you probably will find Joanne on Emerson Playground, walking her dog Max, a 72-pound gray standard poodle (yes, the "siver hammer"). Here's a photo of Joanne at Emerson. I wanted to include Max, but he couldn't stand still.

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree

How much do you love Reusit? At last month's DropOff/SwapOff, I arrived at 1:20 and was out by 1:40, relieved of an old printer, a broken monitor, a large plywood fan (failed interior design idea), and many elementary school woodworking projects.

And I learned flower pots can go in curbside recycling now.

Here are just a few of the other items that were collected: 42 mattresses, 197 bags of Styrofoam, 121 bikes, 16 toilets, six 55-gallon bags of plastic flower pots (guess I was not alone). Also, 17 refrigerators, 51 dehumidifiers, 97 air conditioners, 47 microwaves, and 63 propane tanks.

You can see the complete list and many photos at the town website. The next DropOff and SwapOff will be May 7, 2011. Put it on your calendar now.