A Timely Tribute Ethan Lefkowitz '06 Honors Veterans in Documentary
 While many will gather with family and friends to enjoy barbecues this Memorial Day weekend, parades, statues and memorials will also take place to honor United States service men and women who have lost their lives in combat.
Rider alumnus Ethan Lefkowitz ’06 recently produced a documentary that gives a voice to those who served in World War II. Lefkowitz’s The New Jersey World War II Memorial: A Veteran’s Day Tribute to the Greatest Generation is a video documentary about the New Jersey World War II Memorial and local veterans. The documentary evolved from request by the Jewish War Veterans of New Jersey, asking Lefkowitz to videotape the New Jersey World War II Memorial Dedication on Veterans Day last November. “They just wanted a straight shoot of the events of the day, but after seeing the film, I decided to make it into a documentary by incorporating archival film and photos of actual World War II-related events,” explained Lefkowitz, who spent a month researching for and editing the film. Lefkowitz said he learned a lot about the war and the sacrifices of many people to preserve our freedom. More than 500,000 people from New Jersey served in the war and more than 10,000 died in combat, he added. “I wanted to send the message that the WWII vets truly deserve to have a memorial in New Jersey after all these years, and the dedication of Lady Victory on Veterans Day was very significant and special for them,” Lefkowitz said. “It was a very emotional experience for the vets and for me. These are the people who fought and sacrificed to preserve our freedom and way of life.” The documentary is available as a consumer version of 90 minutes or academic version of 52 minutes from Chip Taylor Communications at http://www.chiptaylor.com/Salesbd.html. Lefkowitz plans to donate a portion of the profits to the New Jersey WWII Commission for the completion and upkeep of the memorial. Lefkowitz started his videography career in 1997 as a sophomore at Hightstown High School. Under the mentorship of Hightstown coach Don Hess, Lefkowitz was the manager in charge of videography for the boys’ varsity basketball team and the girls’ varsity soccer team. After graduating from high school, he worked as sports videographer at Mercer County Community College, where he graduated with an Associate of Applied Science in Television Production. As a student at Rider, Lefkowitz interned at the Sovereign Bank Arena with the Trenton Titans, now the Trenton Devils, where he gained a great deal of experience in filming high-speed sports. After graduating from Rider with a degree in Communication, Lefkowitz started Ethan Lefkowitz Productions to specialize in providing sports highlight videos for college recruiting. In total, he has produced more than 700 videos in sports, promotions, events and documentaries. To see more of Lefkowitz’s work, visit www.ethanlefkowitzvideography.bravehost.com. “Making this movie allowed me to utilize a lot of knowledge and skills that I learned throughout my college career, technically and socially,” he said.
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