40 | JULY 28 • 2022
“There were four great candidates
this year. The selection committee
didn’t want to exclude one of them,”
Ridky said.
While the 19 gold medals are nice,
especially because Ellis has had to
overcome several injuries to get
them, it’s the relationships that Ellis
cherishes most from his Michigan
Senior Olympics career.
“I’ve made some great friends
among the competitors,” he said.
“We’re always comparing notes
on things like workouts, injuries,
recovering from injuries.
“People have asked me if I’m
going to stop lifting now that I’ve
made it into the Hall of Fame. No.
I’m going to keep doing it because
of the health benefits and the
discipline that’s needed.
“When you’ve done something for
45 years, it’s addictive.”
Ellis was a champion weightlifter at
Michigan State.
While he continued to lift weights,
he stopped competing in weightlifting
after graduating from Michigan State
so he could focus on his accounting
career.
He learned about the Michigan
Senior Olympics and its powerlifting
event when he turned 50 and decided
to give it a try.
The rest is history.
Ellis hopes to add another
Michigan Senior Olympics gold
medal to his collection Oct. 15 at
the next powerlifting competition.
Before that, he’ll be inducted
into the Hall of Fame at the 5 p.m.
Aug. 20 celebration at the Oakland
Center on the Oakland University
campus in Rochester.
The evening will include a buffet
dinner, cash bar, silent auction and
talk by two-time NBA champion
Earl Cureton, Detroit Pistons
community ambassador.
Cost is $37. To purchase tickets,
call the Michigan Senior Olympics
office in Rochester at (248) 608-
0250.
Ellis and his wife, Lori, have
been married for 39 years. They
have two children, Michelle, 34,
and Josh, 31, and a grandson Nolan, 15
months.
Send sports news to stevestein502004@yahoo.
com.
JEFF ELLIS
Here’s one of 19
Michigan Senior
Olympics gold
medals Jeff
Ellis has won in
powerlifting.
MAZEL TOV!
Thomas Samuel Zeldes of West Bloomfield
will celebrate his bar mitzvah on July 29,
2022, at the Congregation for Humanistic
Judaism of Metro Detroit, where he will be
flanked by his biggest fans: his parents, Dr.
Steve and Dr. Geri Zeldes; grandparents,
Beverly and Martin Zeldes, and Dr. Evelyn Alumit; and
siblings, Jordyn, Gabriel and Eli.
Tommy attends Clifford H. Smart Middle School in
Commerce Township. He thanks the Commerce and
West Bloomfield communities for helping him with his
mitzvah project by leaving cans out on their front porch-
es, which he colleted to raise money for Almost Home
Animal Rescue, where his family adopted a dog named
River, the newest member of their family.
HOW TO SUBMIT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mazel Tov! announcements are welcomed for members of the
Jewish community. Anniversaries, engagements and weddings
with a photo (preferably color) can appear at a cost of $18
each. Births are $10. There is no charge for bar/bat mitzvahs
or for special birthdays starting at the 90th.
For information, contact Editorial Assistant Sy Manello
at smanello@thejewishnews.com or (248) 351-5147 for
information or for a mailed or emailed copy of guidelines.
SPORTS
continued from page 39