Youth: Reed Spaulding (Baltimore City, Baltimore)

Reed Spaulding is a junior at Townson High School and was selected for the Governor’s Service Award in the 2021 Youth category.

Reed shared, “I am also the organizer and creator of the Tributary Festival. I love music and the Bay and found that this festival would be the perfect way to connect the two. At this year’s festival, held on September 26th at the Baltimore Museum of Industry on the Inner Harbor, we were able to raise over $7,000 to support the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. We also had over 500 attendees, over 50 student volunteers running all aspects of the event, and received awesome press from local sources including WMAR, WJZ, WTMD, the Baltimore Sun, and more. At the event, we had a variety of local student and professional bands, food trucks, raffles, and engaging tents from environmental organizations. The idea behind the Tributary Festival was sparked because many of my fondest memories have been formed on the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers; be it fishing, crabbing, or boating with my grandparents on the Piankatank River in southern Virginia; tubing with my cousins on the Gunpowder in Baltimore County; attending Sandy Hill Camp on the Susquehanna; or sailing with the Downtown Sailing Club on the Inner Harbor. I am also a musician, playing in multiple bands and working on my music every day. I started on the drums, but have been learning guitar, bass, and keys and hope to record an album soon! Outside of these, I also play for the Towson Golf team and enjoy skiing, surfing, and hanging out with friends. I am so grateful for this honor to receive the Governor’s Service Award in the Youth category and look forward to doing more to support our environment in the future. We are currently in the planning stages of 2022’s Tributary Festival and we can’t wait to have it again soon!”

Watch highlights from the 2021 Tributary Festival on Baltimore County Public Schools’ Vimeo.