MARCH 4 • 2021 | 21

of grandparents who live 
nearby. Their friendship 
with their neighbor is one 
extra person they have 
in their life for a special 
intergenerational friendship. 
 
 Over the years, Guyer 
has attended special school 
events at Farber Hebrew 
Day School, where Sara and 
Bella are third-graders, and 
even needlepointed covers 
for when the twins received 
their first siddur.
Guyer was a high school 
teacher but spent most 
of her married life to the 
late Dr. Martin Guyer 
volunteering for Meals on 
Wheels and the National 
Council of Jewish Women. 
 The Selesny family 
moved onto her street 
about nine years ago, but 
the friendship between the 
Selesny and Guyer families 

stretches back 50 years. 
With her three grown 
children and their families 
living out of town, Guyer 
said she has welcomed the 
company of the Selesny 
twins as well as the rest of 
their family.
“The girls are delightful 
and fun to be with,” Guyer 
said. “When the pandemic 
started, we kept apart and 
stayed in our homes. As 
we got used to things and 
things became routine, we 
carefully would let each 
other into each other’s 
homes starting in the 
spring and summer. I am 
very glad they expanded 
their [pandemic bubble] 
to include me. It has been 
a real lifesaver, and it is a 
relief to them, and me, to be 
in someone else’s four walls 
every now and again.” 

Sheila Guyer and 

Sara and Bella 

Selesny

Yad Ezra Holds Elections

Yad Ezra, 
Michigan’s only 
kosher food 
pantry, recently 
held elections 
for the Executive 
Committee 
and Board of 
Directors for 
2021. Elected to the Executive 
Committee were Melvin 
Schwartz, president; Daniel 
Cherrin, Marcy Fikany and 
David Sherman, vice presi-
dents; Jeff Moss, treasurer; 
Ari Dolgin, secretary and 
Alan Reiter, immediate past 
president.
Serving on the Board of 
Directors for 2021 are Nancy 
Baron, Michael Bassirpour, 
Dr. Beth Baver-Neff, Stacie 
Bernard, Laurie Bounds, 
Jason Brown, Sam Dubin, 
Tracie Fienman, Michael 
Gendelman, Channie 
Goldstein, Rabbi Shimshi 

Jonas, Lisa Klein, Ron 
Kepes, Ruth Anne Lippitt, 
Jodi Michaelson, Brad 
Mutnick, Matt Ran, Frank 
Reinstein, Sandy Rosen, Julie 
Rosenbaum, Morris Rottman, 
Jeff Schwartz, Mallory 
Shiffman, Judy Thomas, 
Malka Torgow, Leslie Ungar 
and Ron Yolles.
Yad Ezra past presidents 
include Jeffrey Appel, 
Richard Barr, Kenneth 
Bernard, Gary Dembs, 
Sanford Eisenberg, Michael 
Eizelman, Paul Finkel, Ruth 
Kahn, Nancy Kleinfeldt, Sam 
Rosenberg, Allan Sefton, 
Richard Simtob, Jeff Supowit, 
Andrew Zack and Howard 
Zoller.
 Advisory Panel appointees 
include Susie Citrin, Joel 
E. Jacob, Diane Klein, Sally 
Krugel, Arthur Liss, Rabbi 
A. Irving Schnipper, Howard 
Tapper and Neal F. Zalenko. 

Melvin 
Schwartz

Mayors Fight Antisemitism

American Jewish Committee 
(AJC) and the U.S. 
Conference of Mayors 
launched a national effort 
to combat antisemitism 
in late January. The two 
organizations, which have 
partnered on other projects, 
are calling on mayors 
across the country to sign 
a statement declaring that 
antisemitism is incompatible 
with fundamental democratic 
values.
Mayors from Grand Rapids, 
Lansing, Muskegon, Rochester 
Hills, Sterling Heights, Troy, 
Ann Arbor and Warren have 

already signed up and “there 
are more to come,” said JCRC/
AJC Assistant Director Lauren 
Garfield-Herrin.
“We have always called on 
mayors to speak out against 
hate crimes when they occur, 
and the statement we are 
inviting mayors to sign today 
provides a way for them to 
register their opposition 
to the dramatic increase 
in antisemitism we have 
experienced in our country 
and work together to reverse 
it,” said Conference of Mayors 
CEO and Executive Director 
Tom Cochran.