30 | DECEMBER 28 • 2023 
J
N

A 

Friday night 
tradition for Jewish 
families worldwide 
took on a new meaning 
for Ellyn Davidson of 
Huntington Woods and her 
management team at Brogan 
& Partners. 
On Dec. 1, as the team 
gathered in Florida for an 
annual planning meeting, 
Davidson’s five partners, 
none of whom is Jewish, 
prepared and surprised her 
with a beautiful Shabbat 
dinner, candles, challah and 
wine, and even learned and 
recited the prayers in Hebrew 
in a touching show of love 
and support following the 
Oct. 7 terrorist attack on 
Israel. 
Participants included 

Laurie Hix, the company’s 
creative director; Lori 
Bahnmueller, director of 
research and strategy; Becky 
Robertson, media director; 
and Katie Rehrauer and 
Lauren Zuzelski, directors of 
account services. Brogan & 
Partners is a Ferndale-based 
full-service marketing agency 
with a mission to make a 
positive difference. In all, 
there are 32 team members, 
including Davidson who is 
the CEO.
“The five of us have been 
terribly concerned about 
Ellyn since Oct. 7. We know 
how the war in Israel and 
reports of antisemitism have 
been taking an emotional toll 
on the Jewish community,” 
Bahnmueller said. “As a 

Catholic, I believe when life 
gets overwhelming, you have 
to lean on your faith, into 
something bigger and greater 
than yourself. Knowing 
that Shabbat was a weekly 
celebration, we devised a 
plan to surprise her at sunset 
on Friday.”
The team ordered T-shirts 
that read “I (heart) Jews” 
and a member of the team 
who was already in Florida 
took care of all the meal 
preparations. Laurie Hix 
researched everything 
needed for a traditional 
Shabbat dinner and the 
meaning behind it all, 
including the prayers. 
They told Davidson 
there was an early dinner 
reservation, got dressed and 

ready in advance, and snuck 
out to prepare the table.
“I was the last to get ready. 
I came out to the living room 
of our vacation rental and 
didn’t know where anyone 
was,” Davidson explains. 
“I walked out to the pool 
to find everyone in their 
shirts, playing ‘Fiddler on the 
Roof.’ They all said, ‘Shabbat 
Shalom.’ It was indescribable. 
I will never forget this as 
long as I live. It showed me 
how much they love and care 
about me and Jewish people. 
I’m still overwhelmed.”

SILENCE NOT AN OPTION 
Since Oct. 7, Davidson has 
been posting almost daily on 
social media expressing her 
horror and urging people not 
to stay silent. 
“As a Jewish person, I 
am beyond devastated,” she 
wrote in one of her posts. 
“But this goes way beyond 
my religious affiliation. This 
is about humanity … As 
an owner of an advertising 
agency, I’ve watched brands 

Shabbat Surprise

OUR COMMUNITY

Non-Jewish Brogan & Partners managers plan 
a touching show of love and support. 

ROBIN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Becky Robertson, Laurie 
Hix, Lori Bahnmueller, 
Katie Rehrauer and 
Lauren Zuzelski

Laurie Hix lights 
Shabbat candles 
while Becky 
Robertson looks on.

