ExCom 2021-22: Anne McNeely, CDFA, SDA National Treasurer

Anne McNeely, CDFA was elected and installed to serve as SDA National Treasurer at the 2021 SDA Annual Business Meeting. McNeely, who previously held the National Secretary position in 2020, is a member of the Denver Chapter of SDA. She had served on the board in a multitude of capacities.

“As National Treasurer, my focus will continue to be the strengthening of SDA from the inside out,” McNeely said. “Member outreach and mentorship helps ensure that our members receive the most value out of their membership.”  McNeely is the Project Administration Manager / Contract Administrator for Fentress Architects, Ltd., in Denver, Colorado.

She is also a published author! Her book, Meaningful Omissions, was published in 2017. Click here to learn more about her creative process. 

Fridays After 5 Featuring Kim Celenza

(With Recipes!)

SDA’s member spotlight Fridays After 5 showcases the varied creative, fun, adventurous, or interesting achievements our members accomplish after business hours.

For this installment, we peek into the kitchen of our foodie and SDA National Vice President Kim Celenza. Kim is an Associate and Marketing Manager at Perkins Eastman in New York, New York. She also chairs the SDA National Membership Committee and is an active member of the SDA Marketing and Communications committee. 

Today is the feast of St. Joseph which is widely commemorated all over Italy to honor the relief St. Joseph provided during a famine in Sicily. The tradition includes parades, special recipes, and often the construction of what is known as a St. Joseph’s Altar. The tradition traveled to the US with the Italian immigrants and continues to this day from New York and New Orleans. 

As a child, Kim remembers her grandmother celebrated the day by making the traditional Zeppole di San Giuseppe. Zeppola is a fried pastry, with a center filled with flavored creams or sweetened ricotta. Kim also credits her “Grammy” for igniting her passion for food.

What do you love about cooking?

So many things. I honestly find it extremely therapeutic. I suffer from anxiety and I can say with 100% certainty it has helped tremendously, it's the process, the focus, the love- it comforts me.

I also love cooking for people and sharing something that I love so much with them.  

It feels like I am giving a part of myself when I do.  Also, I LOVE FOOD!

Who do you love to cook for?

My family, my friends.  I also love sharing recipes with my Mom, Dad, my sister Jackie, and friends near and far.

Would you be willing to share a recipe?

Sure! Here’s a favorite I’d love to share: chicken soup with pastina.  Simple, and oh so comforting.  In my family, it is called "Italian Penicillin".

When did the passion start?

Definitely started with my grandmother when I was a child.  Sunday dinners were her "thing". She would get up at 5 am and start making the "gravy" and meatballs.  

That would be followed by roast beef and potatoes and salad.

Making her "gravy" and meatballs will never fail to make me feel close to her again.  

Buon appetito e buona giornata!

The recipe for Kim’s Italian Penicillin is below. If you have trouble locating pastina or bucatini pasta, it is available through Amazon at http://bit.ly/SDAPastinaLink. This is an affiliate link and SDA National could receive a portion of your purchase price.

Bonus Recipe:

Fridays After 5 Featuring

SDA National President Karen Roman

SDA’s member spotlight Fridays After 5 showcases the varied creative, fun, adventurous, or interesting achievements our members accomplish after business hours.  

Today's Fridays After 5 features Karen Roman. Karen is Business Manager of Intergroup Architects headquartered in Littleton, Colorado, and is the 2020-2021 National SDA President. With the stresses of running a national organization as well as managing the finances of a highly successful architecture firm, a creative outlet is just the ticket for a mental break.

For Karen, that creative outlet is creating vivid shimmering works of art using a technique called diamond drill painting or diamond painting. The “diamonds” are tiny resin rhinestones applied one at a time.

If this mesmerizing craft is unlike anything you have seen before that’s likely because it was only introduced to North America and Europe in 2017.  News sources report that the popularity of diamond painting is exploding due to the endless variety of options, the calming effect of placing the diamonds, and the ease of getting started to name a few. 

Karen paused recently to share some insider information on her favorite craft. Our Q&A is below. 

Do you have a favorite craft or meditative outlet? Let us know! Drop a line to admin@sdanational.org using the  subject line “Fridays After 5”. 

Diamond Painting Q&A with Karen Roman

What is diamond painting? It's a bit of a cross between paint by number and cross stitching. You have a canvas with a pattern on it, marked off in tiny grids with symbols. The canvas is sticky in areas where you apply (using a tool dipped in wax) very small multi-faceted plastic drills, matching the drill color to the symbol on the grid.2.

When did you discover diamond painting? I saw advertisements on Facebook last February. I mentioned it to a co-worker who told me her daughter did diamond painting and loved it, so I decided to give it a try.

How difficult is diamond painting? Are the kits expensive? It's not hard, you just need a lot of patience. It's very affordable, most kits are under $15.00 for a 12 x 16 canvas. It can take a long time to complete if you only do it sporadically. I usually work on two or three projects at the same time, alternating between them. I typically finish at least two each month.

What do you enjoy most about the process? It's very relaxing to me, and I like that I can listen to books or shows at the same time. Plus it's fun to see the print take shape

Do you share your art or do it mainly for yourself? Mainly for myself, although I have given several as gifts. In addition to canvases, you can also make greeting cards and ornaments, so I do that as well. Because I've done, and continue to do so many, I hope when the pandemic is behind us that I can offer some of my framed pieces to a senior living home for people who perhaps don't have anything to brighten the walls of their rooms.

Any advice for SDA members who want to give it a try? Go to my favorite shopping site, Amazon, and search diamond drill painting. You'll need a light table (not expensive) and that's about it. Be sure to use the SDA Amazon site!