Troop 993 Celebrates Five Eagle Scouts

The following five teens earned their Eagle Scout rank with Troop 993 in March.

Jake Allen

Allen’s scouting expedition kicked off as a Wolf Cub Scout with Pack 929, Coastal Georgia Council, in 2014, when his stepdad, Derrick, took him to his first meeting. The dual level pack and troop were small but welcomed Allen and often went to district events and camporees. Allen loved to play outdoor games, camping and shooting sports. His family moved to San Antonio, Texas, in June 2015 and Allen joined the robust Pack 23, Alamo Area Council, and ranked up with the pack to Webelos. He transferred to Pack 745 in September 2017 when he earned the Arrow of Light and his Scout rank.

He and his family moved to Maryland in 2019. Allen’s first meeting was on Troop 993’s election night, and he learned about different leadership positions in scouting. He jumped right in and put his name in for patrol quartermaster and was elected. He became known as the kid from Texas and made numerous friends.

Allen has enjoyed the countless campouts and events and believes his time with Troop 993 has been life-changing. He went to summer camp three times at Broad Creek Scout Reservation, to the Philmont Ranch High Adventure in 2024, and was inducted into the Order of the Arrow. In total, Allen camped in a tent for 139 nights, camped in a cabin for eight nights, hiked 372 miles, cycled for 44 miles, and completed 172.5 service hours.

He admits there were times he almost quit, but there were so many leaders and Scouts who supported him and were cheering him on to reach Eagle rank. His Eagle project was a butterfly garden at Kinder Farm Park to support nature conservation, adding plants and flowers that attract pollinators. Allen carefully selected plants, worked with the park ranger to select a spot, and led his crew to cultivate the area and place a border around it.

Allen is currently a senior at Severna Park High School and the vice president of the SkillsUSA chapter at CAT South. He wants to have a career in welding or join the Army as a mechanic, getting his hands dirty and serving his country.

Chase Bierdeman

Spencer “Chase” Bierdeman began his scouting journey in the Atlanta Area Council in 2013, as a Tiger Scout with Pack 405 in Powder Springs, Georgia. In 2014, his family relocated to Millersville, Maryland, where he quickly found a home in the Baltimore Area Council, joining Pack 688.

Over the many years since then, Bierdeman has participated in numerous pinewood derbies, rain gutter regattas, klondike derbies and many memorable camping trips. He won the Shooting Sports, Best in Camp Award in 2017 at the Four Rivers Day Camp.

In 2018, Bierdeman joined Troop 993, with which he has held multiple formal leadership positions including librarian, scribe, patrol leader and assistant senior patrol leader. Bierdeman was elected to the Order of the Arrow in 2024. He earned recognition at Broad Creek Scout Reservation in 2022 as the top shotgun qualifier. He has earned 42 merit badges as well as the Paul Bunyan Woodsman Award.

Bierdeman completed his Eagle Scout project in September 2024. It was an ambitious project, but being the younger brother of two older Scouts, he embraced the challenge and rose to the occasion, successfully building a walk-in shed for the Anne Arundel County 4-H program. This project was the perfect culmination of his scouting journey, as it required all the craftsmanship, ingenuity, planning, friendship and leadership he had developed over the last 11 years. Bierdeman enjoys spending time in nature and his favorite scouting memories include camping in yurts during the annual games trip and whitewater rafting in Weatherly, Pennsylvania.

John Blank

John Blank’s scouting journey began after moving to Millersville, Maryland, at the age of 5 in 2014. He joined Cub Scout Pack 688 in first grade and advanced to Webelo before bridging to Troop 993 in February 2019. Since joining Troop 993, Blank has served in several leadership positions, including assistant senior patrol leader, quartermaster, troop guide and den chief for Pack 688. He is also a member of the Order of the Arrow Honor Society.

In May 2024, Blank completed his Eagle Scout project at Kinder Farm Park. He transformed a rustic deer path into a public access trail to Cattail Pond, designing and building a 250-foot-long, 4-foot-wide trail using over 15 cubic yards of mulch. Blank led a team of 15 motivated Scouts from Troop 993 to clear the trail and spread the mulch. Additionally, Kinder Farm Park placed two picnic tables along the path, so visitors have access to the pond for fishing and a place near the water to picnic.

Some of Blank’s fondest scouting memories include high-adventure trips to Northern Tier, Summit Bechtel Reserve and Philmont Scout Ranch. His favorite memory is climbing Tooth of Time at Philmont. This summer, he will add to those experiences by attending Sea Base in Florida. He completed 31 merit badges, spent 97 nights camping in a tent and nine nights cabin camping, completed 125.5 service hours, hiked 184 miles, and cycled 24 miles. He is grateful for the lifelong friendships and experiences scouting has provided him.

Outside of scouting, Blank competes in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track for Old Mill High School, where he is enrolled in the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma program and will graduate in 2026. He plans to earn his private pilot license and attend college to pursue a career as a commercial airline pilot.

Sean Monahan

Sean Monahan joined Cub Scout Pack 688 in 2014 as a member of Den 7. Some of his favorite early memories of scouting are walking with his friends from school to Scout leader Nate Crum’s house for meetings as well as participating in the pinewood derbies and cake decorating contests. After earning his Arrow of Light rank in 2018 he bridged over to Severna Park Troop 993.

As a Scout, Monahan served as troop guide, den chief and assistant senior patrol leader. He attended many camping trips with Troop 993. His favorites were the games trip and the Indiana Jones trip. He recently completed Philmont along with his father, his den leader, and four of his original Pack 688 members. For his Eagle project, Monahan led a group of Scouts to build, paint, and install a library box and reading table at SPAN. This project allows children to have a quiet place to sit and have activities to do while they wait for their parents.

Outside of scouting, Monahan enjoys swimming, playing the viola and piano, and spending time with friends and family. Monahan is a junior at Severna Park High School and is currently looking to study chemical engineering in college.

Jack Reese

Jack Reese began his scouting journey at the age of 6 with Pack 855. During his time in Cub Scouts, he achieved the Arrow of Light before crossing over to Troop 993. In Troop 993, Reese took on several leadership roles, including scribe, troop guide, patrol leader and assistant senior patrol leader. Some of his favorite memories include attending summer camp each year, the biking campout, the game show campout, and the Assateague campouts, which he attended four times.

Reese earned 31 merit badges. Some of his favorite badges were chess, wilderness survival, cooking, fishing and climbing, which helped him overcome his fear of heights.

For his Eagle Scout project in June, Reese led a 30-person team to construct a rock garden at the Whitney Landing community beach. The project involved removing weeds, tree stumps and trash. The group planted flowers and placed rocks to prevent runoff water from entering the Severn River. Reese is proud to have made a lasting impact on his community.

In addition to scouting, Reese is currently a senior at Mount Saint Joseph High School. At school, he is a student-athlete who plays volleyball and has won two championships. Reese is still deciding where to attend college next year but plans to study finance. Before heading to college, he wants to continue helping the troop at meetings and campouts and looks forward to giving back as an adult leader.

Finally, Reese would like to thank all of his friends, family, troop leaders and mentors who made his achievement of Eagle rank possible.

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