Nearly a thousand people gathered at the Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center auditorium Thursday to celebrate the life of a man who wore many hats during his life and who touched just as many lives.

Brandon Bradshaw, 27 – a youth theater educator at SKyPAC, a youth ministry mentor at Crossland Community Church, a devoted father and husband and a member of Christian rock band Cord of 3 – died Saturday at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville after being shot three times Feb. 26 by off-duty Warren County Sheriff’s Office court security officer Thomas Brown in the parking lot of Michelle’s Consignment Boutique, 1135 U.S. 31-W By-Pass.

People from all walks of life – young and old – came to celebrate Bradshaw’s life and acknowledge his contributions to this community.

U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Bowling Green, who has known the Bradshaw family for years and who first met Brandon when he was a boy, spoke at the memorial and assured those in attendance that justice will be served regarding the Feb. 26 shooting that led to Bradshaw’s death. 

“I think Brandon would think it’s going to work, and the questions will be answered,” Guthrie said to the big crowd at SKyPAC. “I believe we’ll see justice.”

Guthrie talked about Bradshaw’s faith in God as well as his faith in the U.S. 

“Brandon really had faith in our government,” Guthrie said, adding that Bradshaw demonstrated his faith when he enlisted in the U.S. Army National Guard and served in Iraq.

“We’re all so much more because he was,” Guthrie said. 

Some in the audience shed tears as photos of Bradshaw flashed on the big screen in the SKyPAC auditorium. Others just sat in silence, occasionally smiling at a few goofy pictures of Bradshaw.  

“It’s just not fair,” said Brandon’s friend Kristian McElroy of Bowling Green as she looked at pictures of Bradshaw working with kids at SKyPAC. “He loved each one of those kids so much.”

The youth theater group that Bradshaw worked with at SKyPAC performed “Brandon’s Kids” at the memorial in honor of their mentor. 

“Five-hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes, how do you measure a year?” the kids sang, the lyrics inspired by the musical “Rent,” while lining the auditorium stage in rows. “How about love, seasons of love … Brandon we love you.”

The performance ended in a standing ovation. 

“For Brandon it wasn’t work, he was doing what he loved and getting paid to boot,” said SKyPAC Director Tom Tomlinson. “He worked every day to change the lives of young people. I was proud to be Brandon’s employer.”

Bradshaw’s wife, Heidi, and his three sons sat in the first row of the SKyPAC auditorium, watching as family, friends and colleagues paid tribute to a man they knew as dad and husband.

“Daddy, daddy,” one of the boys shouted as pictures of Bradshaw emerged on the big projector.

McElroy said one of the memories that she has of Bradshaw is how he wore silly hats on stage while he performed with Cord of 3. 

“It was silly and something little to make people smile,” McElroy said.

Cord of 3 played several songs in honor of Bradshaw, including the hit single “Letter of My Life.”

One of Bradshaw’s silly hats was displayed on stage, hanging on the bass guitar he played and next to a T-shirt with Bradshaw’s face on it. 

The T-shirts – gray, black and white, symbolizing Cord of 3’s first album – were made by Bradshaw’s friend, Stephen Meredith of Bowling Green. 

The T-shirts were made so that Cord of 3 band members can wear them every time they play a show on tour, Meredith said. “They will wear those shirts, so Brandon will always be with them,” he said.

Cord of 3 band member and Bradshaw’s friend, Randall Erskine of Bowling Green, talked about Bradshaw’s good deeds while they toured the country with the band. 

On a cold night while touring, the band had stopped at a Walmart and Bradshaw helped a homeless family by buying them blankets and allowing them to stay in the tour bus for a while, Erskine said

“He’s a man of small miracles,” Erskine said. “My brother, my friend, you are my hero.”

People will be able to purchase a Brandon Bradshaw Cord of 3 T-shirt for $10 at a benefit event set from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at Betty’s Bar, 2508 Russellville Road. All proceeds from shirt and food sales at Betty’s, along with other donations, will go to the Brandon Bradshaw Recovery Fund at PNC Bank to help Heidi and the boys, Meredith said.