As we enter this season of gratitude, SDA National President, Anne McNeely, CDFA, shares her heartfelt reflection on the impact of generosity and her gratefulness for our SDA community.

This Thanksgiving, as we gather with family and friends, I would like to share the importance of what it means to be generous with your time and sharing your knowledge, skills, and strengths with others. Oftentimes, we do not fully grasp the depth or impact kind encounters have on those around us. I have been blessed with the relationships I have made in SDA. Leveraging this powerful community and learning from one another has helped me be a better person and has changed the trajectory of my career. I am thankful to those SDA members for providing me many words of wisdom and most of all, for giving me a sense of belonging.

The impressions you can have on others is not always quantifiable. It is important to be kind to each other and to recognize that when you give your time to those around you—your loved ones, your colleagues, even strangers—when you share your skills, strengths, and knowledge, you are giving so much more than you realize. Those small acts make the biggest difference to someone else. I am grateful for our SDA community. I am grateful that we can stretch beyond what is right in front of us and see the horizon ahead. I wish you all a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Anne McNeely, CDFA serves as the 2023-2024 SDA National President. She is an Associate with Cuningham in Denver, CO.