Dr. Terry Frederick is the 2016 North Webster Mermaid Festival Parade’s grand marshal.

NORTH WEBSTER — This year, the grand marshal of the North Webster Mermaid Parade is Dr. Terry Frederick. The parade will be at 4 p.m. Saturday, June 25.

Frederick is from Southwest Allen County. As a child, he knew he was going to become a minister or a doctor. He acquired his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and was accepted to IU Medical School. He completed his postgraduate training at St. Vincent’s Hospital. Frederick’s medical practice took place in Carmel, until he moved to Fort Wayne to work at Parkview Hospital. While working at Parkview, he fulfilled his childhood wish by ministering at The Chapel and serving as the director of family life ministries.

Dr. Frederick is married to Sue and they have been living in North Webster since 2000. Together they have three children, Jeff, Brett and Amy, and five grandchildren. Frederick is currently volunteering at the Multi-County Medical Outreach Clinic in Columbia City, a clinic for patients without insurance, suffering from acute and chronic illnesses. He is also the president of the Webster Lake Conservation Association, vice-president of the Watershed Foundation and a board member of the North Webster Community Public Library and the North Webster Chamber of Commerce. Frederick’s hobbies include kayaking, boating, reading, walking and working on his model train collection.

He is actively engaged in mission work. His first international mission trip was to China where he provided medical care at an orphanage. He then traveled to the jungles of Belize and has made the trip to Haiti 23 times to provide medical care for local citizens. He is a sponsor to several Haitian kids to help them with their education. His mission work began in 2005, when he organized a group of 65 doctors and nurses to work 24 hours a day to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana. On helping others through mission work, He commented, “I have been blessed with the gift of reaching out to others, both medically and spiritually. I have enjoyed stepping out of my comfort zone to go help many other less fortunate people throughout the world. It has been a wonderful journey.”

When he was a child, Frederick and his family visited the North Webster Mermaid Festival several summers. He did not anticipate that he would one day become the grand marshal of the parade. “The Mermaid Festival is an annual event that many people participate in and enjoy. The North Webster Lions Club does a wonderful job organizing all the activities, from the Cutie Parade on Wednesday, to the Festival Parade on Saturday. I am honored and humbled to be selected as its 2016 grand marshal.”