Gallatin, Tennessee, Dec. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SERVPRO is proud to continue its tradition of honoring the outstanding and heroic work of first responders ahead of the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, the only annual college football bowl game dedicated to the brave men and women who are the first to respond when emergencies and disasters happen.
This year's game, scheduled for December 26 on the campus of Southern Methodist University, will feature the FIU Panthers and the UTSA Roadrunners. During the game, SERVPRO will acknowledge several first responders, including the athletes of the Firefighter Challenge League and celebrate the relationship with the First Responders Children's Foundation.
2025 Award of Excellence Recipient
The highlight of this year's recognition is the 2025 Award of Excellence, which will be presented to Matt Knodel of the Miller Place Fire Department in Miller Place, New York.
Matt joined the Miller Place Fire Department in late 2022 at the age of 18. In his first full year of service in 2023, he earned awards for Top Responder and Rookie of the Year. In 2024, Matt continued his exceptional service with 249 fire calls and 397 EMS calls—the most responses in his department. He was also honored as the department's Most Valuable EMT. Out of the department's total 1,155 calls in 2024, Matt participated in a significant portion of the 686 medical responses.
"Matt is a terrific young man, dedicated to the fire and EMS service in Miller Place," said Fire Commissioner Larry Fischer. "He is a college student at St. Joseph's University and holds down a job at Mather Hospital, and yet still strives to be the best volunteer he can be in the fire service. He is always ready to run a call. I've seen him in action on multiple occasions and watched him with patients. He is caring and empathetic to each patient's needs or issues. He's a wonderful EMT."
Matt has earned his EMT certification and has completed his Firefighter-I exam, demonstrating his commitment to professional excellence in service to his community.
"We are thrilled to recognize Matt Knodel as the Award of Excellence recipient for this year's game," said Rob Rajkowski, Chief Marketing Officer at Servpro Industries, LLC. “Matt exemplifies the true meaning of a ‘first responder,’ as do all the heroes being recognized during bowl games across the country.
“We are proud to be able to say thank you to the brave first responders who sacrifice every day to help make our communities and families safer.”
Honoring Those Who Serve
Our nation's first responders excel in their jobs every day with little to no recognition. SERVPRO is honored, in its continued sponsorship with ESPN, to recognize first responders across the country for all they do for their communities.
Every year, the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl receives numerous nominations for the men and women who go above and beyond in their communities and demonstrate great compassion and heroism. In addition to the Award of Excellence, SERVPRO will honor 13 additional first responders with the Honor a Responder award at bowl games across the country.
Each Honor a Responder recipient will receive a custom challenge coin minted especially for the awards, as well as a display case. The Award of Excellence winner will receive a custom award medal with display case.
This year’s SERVPRO Honor a Responder recipients are:
- Celebration Bowl – Officer Dustin Krish, Carrollton Police Department
- Salute to Veterans Bowl – Lieutenant James R. Witcher, Montgomery Fire and Rescue
- Gasparilla Bowl – Fire Chief Shaun Carroll, Largo Fire Rescue
- Famous Idaho Potato Bowl – Captain Christopher Hendershot & Senior Firefighter Peter Hammett, Boise Fire Department
- Boca Raton Bowl – Fire Captain Aaron Fix, Boca Raton Fire Rescue Services,
- Frisco Bowl – Officer Shawna Quillin, Celina Police Department
- Hawaii Bowl – Lieutenant Bill Ingram (Ret.), Honolulu Ocean Safety Department
- Texas Bowl – Deputy Sheriff Jesus Vargas, Brazoria County Sheriff's Office
- New Mexico Bowl – Rio Rancho Police Department SWAT Team
- Fenway Bowl – The Duxbury Fire Department
- Birmingham Bowl – Lieutenant Ryan Lavender, Hoover Fire Department
- Las Vegas Bowl – Critical Care Flight Nurse Taylor Hinson, Mercy Air/Air Methods
- Armed Forces Bowl – Sergeant Ryan Nichols & Officer Edwin Bounds, Fort Worth Police Department
For more information about the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, visit firstresponderbowl.com.
About SERVPRO®
For nearly 60 years, SERVPRO has been a trusted leader in fire and water cleanup and restoration services, construction, mold mitigation, biohazard and pathogen remediation. SERVPRO’s professional services network of more than 2,350 individually owned and operated franchises spans the United States and Canada, responding to property damage emergencies large and small – from million-square-foot commercial facilities to individual homes. When disaster strikes, homeowners, business owners and major insurance companies alike rely on SERVPRO to help make it “Like it never even happened.”
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