Bunny Mesmer is confined to a wheelchair due to ALS and arthritis but maintains a positive attitude. She is an artist and chef who designs accessible kitchens and creates award-winning jam. Despite physical challenges, she accomplishes her goals through education, volunteering, business ownership, and home renovation projects. Bunny draws inspiration from helping others and her father's advice that she can achieve anything through determination.

1. Things that are interesting about Sheryl L. “Bunny” Mesmer:
I am relegated to a wheelchair for longer distances, debilitated by the ravages of ALS and severe
arthritis, while my attitude every day remains ‘just a little bit better than outstanding’. It’s my attitude
of gratitude that keeps me going. I always have a smile and an uplifting word for those around me.
I am an artist. Part of that is art using food. I refuse to allow the wheelchair to become a barrier for one
of the things I love most in life, cooking. I am in the process of designing a modern kitchen for my home
using hydraulic parts that exist as office equipment for the handicapped. I intend to write my Master’s
Thesis on the transferability of existing technology for the home kitchen where the equipment becomes
The Ghost of Drum Point by Bunny Mesmer
Sept 2002, Graphic rendering
Photography combined with computer graphics
Luminary Basket by Bunny Mesmer
Dec 2009, Sculpture
Toothpicks, kabob skewers and silk cord

2. customizable to the working height of the user, i.e. children and the vertically challenged can lower it
and tall people can raise it for maximum comfort and ease of use.
My strawberry jam retired the category on both the Wasatch County and Utah state levels after winning
Best in Show 5 years in a row at local fairs. It has been insisted on in lieu of payment for machine work
on an engine. The agreed ‘price’ was 4 quarts. It has been used as a filling in a white on white
strawberry cream wedding cake and served over ice cream. Personally, I prefer it spread on toast.
At age 29, I was a corporate executive for a stock broker firm in McLean, Virginia. My job was not a
simple one. My task was to convince 60 stock brokers that they needed to add insurance to their
Shell with Pearl by Bunny Mesmer
Mar 2008, Sculpture
Foam board, plastic and metal

3. client’s portfolios. Stock brokers, as a general rule, do not believe in insurance and see it as a waste of
their client’s investable capital. They strive to make their clients ‘self-insuring’ by building their assets.
My argument was simple enough, “What protects a client while the assets grow, and what keeps it
intact after inheritance taxes come into the picture?” My argument was strong enough to earn me a
great office with a terrace conference room as the corporate trainer tasked with getting those 60
brokers cross licensed. I accomplished my goal in 2 months, and not one broker failed to pass his state
exam on the first try.
Once this was accomplished, the fun was just beginning. It became my task to sit with the Presidents
and Vice-Presidents of companies such as ITT, New York Life, and Old Line Life and to convince them
that it was most beneficial to them to allow us the privilege of representing only one or two pieces of
their product line rather than holding our broker-agents captive to a single company and a single
product line. I traveled the country for 6 months and not one of the companies I visited turned me
down.
Prior to this, it was unheard of for a broker to advise his client as to the need for insurance, and my 60
brokers were the first in a groundbreaking revolution of the brokerage industry.
My forte in the restaurant industry is to save failing establishments. I have a keen sense of what must
be accomplished to get the patrons back in the door. I am a stickler for CLEAN and for rules governing
alcohol. I change menus and adjust business plans, improve recipes, and have no qualms about getting
rid of dead wood (lazy employees). I make it clear to every employee that remains that it will be my
goal to make them look so good in the dining room (where the patrons are) that their tips will be more
than they ever dreamed possible. The deal I make with them is a simple one. They must work in
partnership WITH ME (not for me…they are not slaves). Their attire and attitude must always reflect the
best the establishment has to offer. They must be willing to change bad habits for good ones and be
open to new ideas and techniques. They must promise to always give me and their patrons their very
best.
Once these rules are established, the real work begins. With these agreements in place, the last
establishment I turned over changed completely in 3 days. We worked together to eradicate 57 health
code violations that were severe enough to fine the owner heavily and close the doors. By the end of
the first day, everyone on staff made tips equal to what they were used to for a two week period of
time. By the end of our first week, the gross income rose from an abysmal $1250.00 for 110 seats to
just over $14K. We maintained this level after the holiday season closed and every other establishment
was crying for business. We had become “THE place to go”.

4. When I get an opportunity to volunteer my time, I do it HUGE and ‘out there’ just like everything else. I
volunteered as a cook for a girl’s summer camp in June of 1997. They were used to breakfast being cold
cereal; lunch was peanut butter & jelly or bologna sandwiches, and delivery pizza for dinner. I managed
a 5 star summer camp. With the assistance of my mother, we served meals such as eggs with pancakes
(made from scratch), bacon or sausage, and English muffins (made from scratch that morning from fresh
dough). Lunch was a salad and cold food bar as a rule with the occasional light offering such as garlic
alfredo over spinach linguini with shrimp, breadsticks and a side salad. The shrimp were fresh and we
made the bread and pasta by hand.
All meals were served at table and family style, for an average per meal of 350 campers and staff. The
final dinner was ‘Family Night’, so I employed the dads as grill chefs for burger night. That meal was
attended by more than 750. Any leftover food was sent to families in need and distributed by more
than 25 members of the clergy. I still managed to get 11 hours of sleep in 7 days. I had a blast! I turned
around and repeated all this for a youth retreat two years later. I would do it again if the opportunity
presented itself, even from a wheelchair.
Perfection by Bunny Mesmer
July 2004, Painting
Acrylic on canvas

5. My father gave me the best piece of advice I have ever gotten in my life. I was 15 years old and working
with him to finalize the electrical service in the barn we had built as a family. He told me that I could
accomplish anything if I only set my mind to do so. He was right. Forearmed with that, I have walked
through my life accomplishing wonderful things. In the process of doing so, I have met wonderful
people along my journey. Because of that one bit of wisdom, I choose to fight the ravages of my ALS
and to do it with dignity and grace. I have remained strong in the face of great adversity and survived
many life changing tragedies with an ability to land on my feet and recover well. A friend of mine told
me that I remind him of Golda Meir, one of the greatest women of our time, who was known to carry
herself with grace, charm, and élan. The only way I will ever be able to repay my father for that one
small bit of wisdom is to continue to apply it in everything I do and for every day of my life.
In the future, I plan to continue on my path to a Masters degree in Hospitality Management and have
completed a minor in Fine Art. My educational goal is a Ph. D. My life goal is to have my own restaurant
that is correctly operational from day 1, one that is disability friendly from the start to both staff and
patron, and where the menu is both financially and palette friendly to the clientele.
Davinci’s Study of the Head of a
Woman, #12 by Bunny Mesmer
Nov 2010, Drawing (reproduction)
Quill pen and ink on tinted 400 series
stock paper

6. My current community service project is to restore an eyesore, also known as my home, circa 1860. My
son and I purchased it two years ago with hopes to restore it to its former glory as a prime example of
ante bellum architecture here in Fort Wayne. We are completing the work without additional debt
which requires a lot of manual self labor. We remain undaunted in the task, and each year sees a
marked improvement in the property.
For employment during my studies, I served as a teaching assistant to a professor for IPFW, and who
teaches Astronomy for both the AST 100 and AST 105 courses. During my office hours, I tutored
students who had gotten lost in the sheer amount of material that is covered. I appreciated their
moments of understanding as we studied, and it was my goal to kindle a spark of true interest in the
heavens within each of them. I applaud them for their efforts and willingness to work hard. Their
improved grades were their reward. My reward was watching them smile when they finally understood.
I am an entrepreneur and have owned and operated my own business, THE COUNTRY MOUSE™
for 31 years. My online store carries accessories for antique sewing machines, such as needles, bobbins,
shuttles, treadle replacement belts and other parts. My research of these items spans 24 years, and I
developed a user friendly, informational website that is the culmination of my research entitled:
NEEDLEWORKS ™©
My store also carries a line of fine jewelry, original art, fine hollowware, vintage apparel and a wonderful
selection of vintage new PlayMaxx® and Proyo® yo-yos in a variety of great colors. My name is branded
at bunnymesmer.com.
Antique Brooch by Bunny Mesmer
Oct 2010, Drawing
Charcoal on 300 series white paper stock
Below:
Lounge by Bunny Mesmer
Oct 2008, 1/64th
scale Model
Foam board

7. I currently carry a 3.94 GPA, and my downfall from a perfect 4.0 was having pneumonia while continuing
to attend classes during the Fall 2010 semester. My parents kept my ‘report card’ displayed on their
refrigerator.
For fun, I play the guitars in my collection. I have played actively since childhood and have become an
avid collector of some very fine and (some) very famous instruments. My formal training was in the
classical style which translates over to a mean walking bass line. I play both standard 6 string and 4
string bass and have become quite proficient and comfortable with both. I retired as bass player for a
rock band at age 50. While with the group, I composed the bulk of their music. I also write prose and
poetry when time permits. It is kept in book form, hand written, and entitled: Bunny’s Book of Wit and
Wisdom.
Right:
Lounge
by Bunny Mesmer
Oct 2008
Original design Mache- up
Cardboard