Maryland Teen Receives Prestigious Award

Jake Reed of Westminster, Md. (Carroll County) has been named the National Cadet of the Year by the Civil Air Patrol. He received the award Saturday, August 9th during the organization's annual conference in Orlando, Fla. He is the first Maryland resident in more than a decade to receive the prestigious award. The eighteen-year-old beat out thousands of teens from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to obtain the top honor.
 
The CAP Cadet of the Year must demonstrate outstanding leadership in the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) as well as academic excellence. With Cadet Reed's busy schedule, accomplishments come along frequently and quickly. He has held almost every leadership position possible in the Maryland Wing of CAP. He is also an active mentor to younger members dedicating countless hours to helping cadets improve in their drill, academics and sportsmanship.
 
The Civil Air Patrol calls his level of involvement "unique" in that Reed supports all three of CAP missions: Emergency Services, Aerospace Education and Cadet Programs with the highest level of dedication. Reed is a member of CAP's ground search and rescue team which looks for missing persons and downed aircraft when called upon by Maryland State Police or the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center.

A Cadet Colonel, he has achieved the highest rank possible in the Cadet Program. With the rank, he received the General Carl A. Spaatz Award last year, an accomplishment that only 1,500 cadets across the country have ever achieved since the award's inception in 1964. He was even invited to assist the Cadet Programs staff at CAP's national headquarters in Alabama with the development of new National Cadet Special Activities procedures.
 
Reed is heavily involved in Aerospace Education. He is currently working on completing the requirements for his pilot's license. He soloed last year in a Cessna 172 through a CAP flight scholarship. In addition, he passed the FAA private pilots exam with the highest score in his class.

Reed is equally as active outside of CAP. He is currently a junior at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County where he is pursuing a degree in International Economics. He has interned for the Department of Defense for the last two summers and has been offered a full-time job there once he obtains his degree. Before enrolling at UMBC, he graduated Magna cum Laude from Carroll County Community College with a degree in General Studies and a 3.85 GPA.

In addition to school, his job and all of his work he does for the community in CAP, he has also donated his time outside of the organization by volunteering with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Scales and Tales program, the Maryland State Fair, the Festival of Trees and the Carroll Hospice.

FMI: www.mdcap.org, www.cap.org