Scholarship Fund is up and running!

To donate to the Tina Collyer Memorial EMT Scholarship, Tina's Heart, go to http://www.valencia.org. Once you are there, click on ">>>GIVE NOW Make a Donation" in the middle of the page on the right side. Enter your personal information, and then click the Continue button at the bottom of the page. In the Designation drop-down box, select "Tina Collyer Memorial EMT Scholarship, Tina's Heart," then enter your credit card information, and click on Proceed to Verification. You can also set up a recurring donation by printing out and faxing the following form: http://www.valencia.org/documents/CreditCardForm.pdf. You can then fax the form to the Valencia Foundation at 407-582-3156 or send it to:
Valencia Community College Foundation
190 S. Orange Ave.
Orlando, FL 32801
If you prefer to send in your donation, you can send it to the address above. Just remember to write Tina Collyer Memorial EMT Scholarship in the Memo area of the check.

I met Tina my freshman year at FIT. We shared so many memories over the years. She always made me laugh. And she was the kind of friend you knew would be there when you needed her. We were roommates in Orlando when she decided to become a firefighter. It changed her life and made her happy. She loved helping people and was so frustrated when she got sick and could no longer do that. Tina lived life to the fullest and always gave more than she received.

On the one-year anniversary of her death, I still have trouble believing that she's gone. I miss her very much, but I know her spirit lives on in all the lives that she touched.

Tina Collyer Memorial Scholarship Fund

This is one of my favorite pictures of Tina. It was taken at my house in Port St. John, when Tina was training for her EMT exam. We had a lot of fun that day, setting up equipment and going through all the physical tests she had to do in the exam. We had to set up a pulley high up so she could lift a weight, and I think we put a ladder on top of the truck to put the pulley over a branch in a tree. One of the funniest times was when Tina had to drag me a distance like she was pulling me out of a fire. We laughed a lot that day.

The scholarship being created at Valencia Community College in Tina's name will be an annual gift to a deserving Explorer entering the EMT program. In order to establish the scholarship, $3,000 must be donated to the Valencia Foundation in memory of Tina. The Foundation will earmark all the donations made in Tina's name, and the scholarship will be official after the total donation amount reaches $3,000 and all the appropriate paperwork is completed. If for some reason donations do not reach $3,000, the money will still be given to students in Tina's memory.

After I get some more information from the Valencia Foundation to confirm all of this (so far everything has been verbal), I will put the link up here to make an online donation or send in a donation, and I will also send out some emails in an effort to get donations. We will create a scholarship committee to determine student selection criteria, to set policies, and to select recipients. We may also talk about other ways to raise money for the scholarship fund if that becomes necessary.

Tina died one year ago. We all miss her. I love reading these posts - it makes me feel less alone in how much I miss her. Big hugs to all of you.

Missing Tina

How I miss my dear friend Tina. It seems so strange that is has been a year. Sometimes it seems like yesterday that we were laughing together....although it has been much longer than a year since the laughter because of her illness. I am so happy that she is not in pain anymore. Sometimes I wish I could just go back and have some fun with her for 15 minutes and tell her how much I loved and appreciated her. One thing for sure, you knew you were loved by Tina, she never hesitated to tell you! Friends like that are so hard to find and I miss her!

HEY TINA

I miss Tina so much. I was so lucky to be as close as I ever was for the end of Tina's time on earth. She was there for me in ways I can't tell you. I tried to be there for her as much as possible. No matter how bad of a day she was having when I came home (no matter what time) she would come out of her door to greet me with HEY BILL!! I would reply HEY TINA. I have my own auto repair shop because of Tina. I have put memorabilia and pictures of her around the shop so I'm never without her. I haven't been feeling to good the past few days and couldn't put my finger on it. Well it hit me today it's almost a year since she passed and I MISS HER SO MUCH! It makes me so sad when I think about her not being here to see what my children and I have done, become and grown the last year. She is an ANGEL and always be.

HEY TINA, MISS YOU, LOVE YOU!!

Bill Collyer

I have made her guest book permanent see link

http://www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookid=652953844615

Tina!!

Thank-you for keeping Tina's memory alive! I miss her phone calls so much!
Alicia Collyer Jones

Inspiration

Tina inspires me. She always gave me more in our friendship than I ever gave back to her. She was awesome. I am sad and angry that she died, and that she died alone. I am sure that she is the absolute BEST tour guide in Heaven.

Drawing has helped me deal with Tina's death. That's all fine and good, right, but it doesn't really help anyone else. Tina's whole essence was about giving and helping other people. So, after almost a year since she died, I am hoping to set up a scholarship in Tina's name. Right now, I am waiting to hear back from Valencia Community College about starting an annual scholarship there for Explorers who want to enter the EMT/Paramedic program.

Tina's email address started with 'ofdtina.' The 'ofd' is for Orlando Fire Department. It is in the shape of a fire helmet.

This is Pacific Northwest style. Tina helped me move to Washington State in 2005, on a road trip with 2 small kids and a large dog. She visited again when she went to a Josh Groban concert in Vancouver. We went whale-watching in the San Juan islands, where we saw a gray whale but no orcas, which Tina loved. This picture depicts Tina (one side shows her hand, the other her angel wing) inside an orca. The orca is identified by the tail outline, the head, the fins, and the blowhole.

This was the first picture I drew in memory of Tina. It shows her with angel wings rising up out of the hell she endured here, 'going home' to God.

Missing Tina 24/7,
Shannon Omark