SEI Design Group BlogBlog about news, information, happenings and mojo at SEI Design Group

One of our favorite sites, A Daily Dose of Architecture, had a post about J. Crew including Charles Renfro in an ad campaign showing how different men personalized one of their suits.  As you can see from the picture, it was all about the socks.  Question to all readers:  do you rock your socks?  If so, send us a picture of your socks by 1/31/12 2/6/12.   One lucky winner will get some new socks in this deal.  SEI friends and family may participate in this contest.  Let’s hear it for the socks!

Recently, SEI Design Group hosted the first, hopefully to become annual, SEI Chili Cook-Off.  SEI staff brought in their homemade chili recipes and let them simmer all morning throughout the office.  At lunch everyone convened at the second floor conference table to partake in some spicy tastings. There were a variety of entries including a turkey chili, a venison chili, two types of Cincinnati chili, and two traditional chilis with kick!
Cooks included Kurt Vater, Kelly Wobser, Beth McFarlane, Ted Mountain and Brian Cieslinski. Other tasters/judges included Karen Caruso, Steve Staveski, Paula Cisterna, Bill Serow and Jim VanSchaffel.

Prizes were awarded as follows:

Fan Favorite
Prize:  $25 gift card to Chili’s Restaurant went to Ted Mountain with his stewed tomato base chili with Frito chips, sour cream and cheese.

Most Hot
Prize: (3) bottles of hot sauces; Tropical Pepper Co. XXXXtra Hot Habanero Pepper Sauce, Tabasco Chipotle, Tiger Sauce, went to Kelly Wobser with her venison chili and cheese accompanied with corn bread and honey butter.

A good time was had by all, and the jar of Tums is nowhere to be found. 

Thanks to Kurt Vater for organizing the event.

It’s official!  Genesee Fed, SEI Design Group’s 2011 Canstruction entry is a winner!  We were happy to have some of the team members, sponsors, and guests celebrating with us at the Award Gala Event.  Rochester City School District Principal Kathleen Denaro and Charles Nash from Edison enjoyed the event with the SEI folks. Brad Moreland – team captain, and team members Charles Nash, Kiel Wobser, Kelly Wobser, and Steve Staveski accepted the award for BEST USE OF LABELS.

We want to take this opportunity to say thanks again to our sponsors: Engineered Solutions, M/E Engineering, Watchdog, Campus Construction Management, Walmart, and Genesee Brewing Company for contributing to this event.

On Saturday, SEI participated again in a really great charity event, Canstruction. This is a design build competition for design professionals and students using cans. All the building materials (canned goods) get donated to food kitchens at the end of the event.   Since 1992, Canstruction has donated over 10 million pounds of food.  In Rochester, the cans are donated to Foodlink after the event.

Our entry ~ GENESEE Fed is on display and the Award Gala is this Friday in the Bausch and Lomb Wintergarden.   (read more)

The SEI Design Group Build Team

SEI: Brad Moreland (Team Captain), Jimmi Van Shaffel, Ted Mountain, Steve Staveski, Kelly Wobser, Kiel Wobser, Brian Cieslinski, Kurt Vater

Rochester City School District: Charles Nash, Andrew Hylton, and their mentors, William Broome (RCSD) and Wayne Williams (Gilbane)

We want to thank our sponsors: Engineered Solutions, M/E Engineering, Watchdog, Campus Construction Management, Walmart, and Genesee Brewing Company for helping us to compete.

Architectural Record Magazine is running a cocktail napkin sketch contest.

There have to be architects in addition to Vic who love doing this!

Details are here.  Also take a look at some of the past winners (and runner ups, honorable mention, etc.).  Very impressive.

It looks like it is time for another SEI contest.  This time, the prize will be another flying monkey, but with a twist. Our latest pet has a parachute to help with the landing, but it appears from the video below that more is needed. To enter the contest, make your own version of an SEI landing pad for the monkey to help cushion his fall.  Email a digital photo of your entry.

Winner will get a new addition to their family: a flying monkey complete with parachute! This contest is open to all including SEI staff and families.  You can also leave a comment here to “name the monkey”.  While there will not be a parachute involved, the winner of the naming contest will also win a prize.

Author of the first correct answer gets a fun office toy!!! 

Note:  SEI Design Group Staff and Families are exempt from this contest.

Have you signed up for our March Madness fun?  Be ready so you can get your brackets done when the announcement of teams is made on Sunday.  Mike is our hoops guru, so contact him if you have any questions.  Time for a Hoops related Contest.  You can win this exciting prize, BASKET CASE.  The winner of this prize can select a friend to wear the basket so others can take their shots.  Looks like fun to us!  A little cash to treat the participants to a snack comes with the game.  Just leave a basketball related comment below to enter.  A random entry will be selected, so no skill necessary to win, but you must have a gravatar!  Contest is open to all, and friends and family of SEI Design Group are encouraged to participate.

Eric has broken Jimmi’s chance at the “3rd times a charm” Valentine Contest run.  Jimmi still holds the record for the most Valentine wins, but Eric, is the proud owner of the new gumball machine (bank) and $20 (less whatever he spent to fill it).   Michele was masterminding all the items that could fit in the machine, and her eyes were rolling with cheery thoughts of shopping at Wegmans, but Eric would not allow that, and had to shop himself.  The actual number of hearts before the Rochester crew started to devour them was 315.  For those who did not win, be sure to have your gravatar ready for the next contest (can you say St. Patty’s Day?).

It’s about that time again, and this is a super easy contest!  Guess how many candy hearts in the jar. Submit your entry by February 10th by leaving a comment below. Entries will only count if you have a gravatar.  You may only enter 1 time.  In the case of a tie, the earliest entry will win, so don’t delay.  The winner will be awarded this gumball machine and some moolah to keep it stocked.  This contest is open to all including SEI staff, friends and family.