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

