ABOUT

One of my grandfathers was a preacher with a booming voice. He supported his family doing the backbreaking work of lobstering in Maine.

My other grandfather was a New York City doctor with a mind as sharp as his surgical instruments.

Sadly, I never met either of them. Both died before I was born.

A handful of photographs survive and there’s even a recording of one sermon that my great Aunt said makes her brother sound, “tinny.”

Both were hardworking men, providing inspiration on a Sunday morning and hope on an operating table. How great would it be to hear their stories from them?

Now it’s possible.

More than fifty years after they passed I bring the same passion they found in their work to storytelling. As a journalist I specialize in mining memories for specific tales, placing them in context and weaving them into heartfelt documentaries.

Casual conversations turned into an escape story from Cuba, a tale of dodging bullets in Germany and a rescue at sea. Often, the small stories are just as thrilling: the family’s apple pie recipe, the first formal dance, that time you stood up to a bully.

They all become fascinating because it’s your family, your story, your legacy.

Stories from our relatives should be treasured, preserved and passed on - in their own voices. That’s why I started Legacy Docs.

I don’t take lightly the responsibility of telling others’ stories. In 2010 I made a short documentary on a family friend named Sam Leff, who played semi-professional football in the 1930s. Then I made one about my mother-in-law, Sharon Greene. I made them on a flip cam and a laptop.

In 2013 I started making documentaries at Time Warner Cable SportsNet with a partner. Using high-end cameras and editing software we won five Telly Awards in a single year.

Now I want to help others preserve their relatives' stories in high-quality documentaries. I want to give everyone the chance to stay in touch with their families forever.

- Drake Witham