Scholarship fund launched in name of fallen paramedic

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On Oct. 15, 2015, Matthew “Bull” Griffin, a member of the Texas Roaddocs, lost his life in a crash that occurred while he was on his way to work at Nixon EMS.

Although Griffin may no longer be here in physical form, his legacy lives on through the Roaddocs — a  motorcycle riding club made up of EMS personnel. The group recently launched the Matt Griffin Scholarship, an organization that designs memorial T-shirts made in honor of Griffin, and the proceeds provide funds for basic EMTs to go to paramedic school. 

“The shirts are black with yellow letters,” said Jimmy Loer, Griffin’s brother-in-law. “They’re sort of an homage to Matt’s bike, which was black and yellow. The shirts are manufactured in and shipped from Austin, and are sold for $20 apiece.” 

On Dec. 16, two local EMTs — Chris Tippett and Shannon Millner — were chosen to go to paramedic school, with tuition paid for by the Matt Griffin Scholarship. The sales have provided some funding, and some funds have come in the form of donations.

“We received some donations that made the first two scholarships happen more quickly,” Loer said. “Matt’s passion was EMS, and we want his memory to live on. We want to help that by bettering our local EMS.”

Typical EMS training costs from $5,000 to $5,500.

“Matt was very passionate about what he did,” Loer said. “What we’re trying to do is let his passion continue to live through this by promoting these shirts and allowing young EMTs to further their ambitions and better themselves.”

The shirts can be purchased online at http://www.emsroaddocstexas.org/merch/.

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