By SERA KING / Headline Surfer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- This reporter was among the few to witness the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber at Starke prison on a hot October afternoon in 2002.
The year before, this reporter was embedded in a crowded Daytona courtroom for the civil trial brought by Dale Earnhardt's widow in her quest to keep his autopsy files sealed just months after he was killed instantly after slamming into the outside concrete retaining wall nearly head-on at 185 mph on the last lap of the Daytona 500.
And this reporter kept his head down as he was hastily escorted - a small video camera in one hand and an asthma inhaler in the other - directly to a large SUV, with tinted windows, which he stepped into for an exclusive interview with Trayvon Martin's parents in downtown Miami on a hot April night in 2012, as literally hundreds of stunned camera crews stood mostly dumbfounded - some visibly upset having stood for hours behind a cordoned-off area the length of a football field hoping for an interview that the grief-stricken parents only gave to this reporter just before a massive rally got underway that drew 20,000 strong.
So who was this intrepid reporter? Meet Henry Frederick.
Covering the news has been Frederick's obsession in Central Florida for 25 years - nearly a decade as a metro reporter with the Daytona Beach News-Journal on the cops & courts beat, and for the last 15 years online with Headline Surfer.
And while countless reporters have come and gone, more so in recent years with cuts in newsroom staffing, especially in the daily newspapers, Frederick has adapted to the changing times and circumstances.
Frederick even earned a Master of Arts degree in New Media Journalism in February 2019, from Full Sail University.
He considers the master's a major achievement in his life, considering it was 35 years after he earned his bachelor's. He ranks this third behind raising his only child, Henry IV, now 27, and his longstanding journalism career; first and second, respectively.
Here is a rundown of his awards:
2022 Florida Press Club Awards, Breaking News, 2nd place
2022 Florida Press Club Awards, Sports Writing, 2nd place
2022 Florida Press Club Awards, Independent News Site (include 3 illustrative stories), 2nd place
Goodbye to two outstanding NY journalists who mentored me all those years ago: 'It don't come easy'
2021 Florida Press Club Awards, Breaking News, 1st place
2021 Florida Press Club Awards, Sports Writing, 1st place
BREAKING NEWS: LA Lakers defeat Miami Heat for league championship in the NBA Bubble in Orlando
Upstart Michael McDowell wins 2021 Daytona 500 in last-lap multi-car crash
2021 Florida Press Club Awards, Public Safety, 3rd place
2020 Florida Press Club Awards, COVID-19, 1st place
2020 Florida Press Club Awards, Sports Writing, 1st place
Denny Hamlin avoids carnage to win his 2nd Daytona 500 in the longest race in nearly a decade
Roman Reigns skipping WrestleMania in Orlando due to concerns over coronavirus pandemic & his own 'immuno-compromised' health
https://www.headlinesurfer.com/content/roman-reigns-skipping-wrestleman…
2020 Florida Press Club Awards, Online, Independent News Site (include 3 illustrative stories), 3rd place
Special Report: How Safe Are We In East Central Florida?
2019 Florida Press Club Awards, Sports Writing, 3rd place
Denny Hamlin avoids carnage to win his 2nd Daytona 500 in the longest race in nearly a decade
Headline Surfer Hall of Fame: Vince Carter returning to NBA for record 22nd season
2018 Florida Press Club Awards, Online News Web Site, 1st place
2018 Florida Press Club Awards, Sports Writing, 1st place
Austin Dillon wins Daytona 500 in last-lap bump and wreck of race leader Aric Almirola
Pierson's Chipper Jones: MLB first-ballot Hall of Famer
2018 Florida Press Club Awards, Education Writing, 3rd place
Lake Mary HS student & relief aid volunteer Christina Cardona: No quick fix for Puerto Rico
2017 Florida Press Club Awards, Online News Web Site, 2nd place
2017 Florida Press Club, General News Writing, 1st place
Southern rocker Gregg Allman, who spent part of his childhood in Daytona, has died at age 69
2017 Florida Press Club Awards, Public Safety Reporting, 2nd place
2016 Florida Press Club Awards, Sports Writing, 1st place
Stetson University's Brianti Saunders nets record 40 Points in Hatters' win
Deltona's Paxton Lynch 26th pick in 1st round of NFL draft by quarterback-starved Denver Broncos
2016 Florida Press Club Awards, Public Safety Reporting, 1st place
VCSO: Daytona jail inmate's death by hanging with bed sheet result of apparent suicide
Feds: Former Longwood top cop Thomas Jackson sentenced to 4 years in prison for bribery conviction
2015 Florida Press Club Awards, Breaking News, 1st place
Bail set at $1.2 million for pregnant mom who drove van into Daytona Beach surf with 3 kids inside
VCSO: Port Orange father guns down his 3 kids then kills himself after wife runs next door
2015 Florida Press Club Awards, Feature Sports Writing, 2nd place
Remembering ESPN anchor Stuart Scott: Personality resonates in story telling
2014 Florida Press Club Awards, General News Reporting, 3rd place
New Smyrna Beach Mayor Adam Barringer raised taxes while not paying his own tax bills
2014 Florida Press Club Awards, Religion Reporting, 3rd place
Mayor Adam Barringer invisible after KKK furor, but takes center stage in MLK celebration
Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry pays homage to poet Maya Angelou
Remembering MLK: Keeping the Dream Alive in Daytona
2013, Florida Press Club Awards, General News Reporting, 3rd place
Federal court awards $444,000 to woman fired from New Smyrna Beach Fire Department
2013 Contest Florida Press Club Awards, Religion Reporting, 3rd place
New Smyrna Beach residents celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday with song, speech and prayer
Florida Baptist Convention elevates Daytona Beach Pastor L. Ronald Durham
Ormond Beach minister and Boston Marathon runner shares message of love
2013 Contest Florida Press Club Awards, Public Safety Reporting, 3rd place
Ex-wrestler Mike Graham dies of self-inflicted gunshot wound in Daytona visit for Biketoberfest
| BREAKING NEWS: NSB cops: Woman killed, man airlifted after both ejected in rollover on S. Causeway Bridge |
2012 Florida Press Club Awards, Blog Writing, 1st place
NASCAR Hall of Fame announcement fuels memories of 1979 Daytona 500
Memorial Day: The lessons of the Berlin Wall
Father knows best even if it takes half a lifetime to see that
2012 Florida Press Club Awards, Public Safety Reporting, 3rd place
| Daytona police chief promotes patrol supervisor who taunted female cop for more than a year |
Daytona Beach's Bike Week 2012 road fatalities stretch out to Pierson and Orlando
2012 Florida Press Club Awards, General News Writing, 3rd place
| Daytona police chief promotes patrol supervisor who taunted female cop for more than a year |
Young biker living life to fullest tragically killed in New Smyrna Beach
2012 Florida Press Club Awards, Best Online Presentation (Including Use of Social Media), 3rd place
PRINT NEWSPAPER AWARDS:
• 2004 Society of Professional Journalists, Florida Chapter, Second Place / Large Newspapers, Investigative Reporting, Henry Frederick, Daytona Beach News-Journal, Daytona Beach, FL.
- Silent Cries (3-day series on child homicides)
• 2004 Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, Honorable Mention, Investigative, Henry Frederick, Daytona Beach News-Journal, Daytona Beach, FL,
- Silent Cries (3-day series on child homicides)
• 2004 Society of Professional Journalists, Florida Chapter, Breaking News, Honorable Mention / Large Newspapers, Henry Frederick, Daytona Beach News-Journal, Daytona Beach, FL
- Community mourns death of longtime area educator.
• 2003 Society of Professional Journalists, Florida Chapter, First Place / Large Newspapers, Henry Frederick, Daytona Beach News-Journal, Daytona Beach, FL
- Lawsuit monopoly justifies splitting up NASCAR
• 2003 Society of Professional Journalists, Florida Chapter, Second Place / Large Newspapers, Breaking News, Henry Frederick, Daytona Beach News-Journal, Daytona Beach, FL
- The Execution of Aileen Wuornos
• 2003 Florida Press Club, Second Place, Excellence in General News Writing, Henry Frederick, Daytona Beach News-Journal, Daytona Beach, FL
- Unusual cases re-ignite legal arguments on Miranda rights
- Word on the Street: Few police
- Lawsuit: Monopoly justifies splitting up NASCAR
• 2003 Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, Third Place, Henry Frederick, Daytona Beach News-Journal, Daytona Beach, FL
- Lawsuit: Monopoly justifies splitting up NASCAR
• 2002, Society of Professional Journalists, Florida Chapter, Third Place / Large News, Breaking News, Henry Frederick, Daytona Beach News-Journal, Daytona Beach, FL
- Trull Brothers on trial
• 2002 Florida Press Club, Third Place, Excellence in General News Writing, Henry Frederick, Daytona Beach News-Journal, Daytona Beach, FL
- Spring Break: Collision Course Lawsuit: Monopoly justifies splitting up NASCAR
- Behavior nets police chief two-week unpaid suspension.
- Trull Brothers on trial
• 1998 Society of Professional Journalists, Florida Chapter, Honorable Mention / Large Newspapers, James K. Batten Award for Outstanding Public Service, Henry Frederick, Daytona Beach News-Journal
Daytona Beach, FL
- Spring Hill (week-long series)
• 1998 Society of Professional Journalists, Florida Chapter, Second Place / Large Newspapers, Breaking News, Henry Frederick, Daytona Beach News-Journal, Daytiona Beach, FL
- (Stanley Quaggin Case) Little boy: He shot and killed my friend
Back in the Day: Very First Journalism Award
• 1992 New York State Associated Press, Spot News, Honorable Mention, Henry Frederick, The Rockland Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers, West Nyack, NY
- Two charged in gas station slaying
College Education: MA & BA 35 Years Apart
Henry Frederick, Master of Arts, New Media Journalism, Full Sail University, Winter Garden FL, 2019.
Graduated with academic honors. Final Capstone Research Project Story: "How Safe Are We in East Central Florida?" Received a perfect score of 100. Graduated February 2019.
Henry Frederick, Bachelor of Arts, Political Science / Public Administration; Minor: Journalism,
Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT, 1984.
- President's Citation as top student for "Academic Excellence and Community Service."
- In addition to all four years on the college newspaper, the Central Recorder (latter 2 as editor), published two independent newspaper editions of Campus Review, on display in the university library's rare book room to this day 36 years later.
Sera King is associate publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet serving greater Daytona Beach, Sanford, and Orlando, FL via HeadlineSurfer.com since 2008. King, who previously served as the multimedia editor, also is a bylined writer, videographer and cartoonist for the media outlet. King, born and raised in Puerto Rico, received her bachelor's degree in Business Administration (3.84 GPA) from Ana G. Mendez University in Orlando in 2008. She lives in Lake Mary, Florida, with her husband, Henry Frederick. They share their cozy 2BR townhome with a Yorkie, Napoleon, and a mini-macaw, Paulie Wally.