Don Franklin matches donations for fallen trooper’s family

BOWLING GREEN Ky — The Don Franklin family of dealerships is helping raise money for the family of Kentucky State Police Trooper Hayden Phillips through the Operation 369 Memorial Fund.

The dealership group has partnered with the Kentucky State Police Foundation to support Phillips’ wife and three young sons after he was killed in the line of duty Sept. 28.

Don Franklin is matching donations to the fund dollar for dollar, up to $20,000.

Alex Patterson, marketing manager for Don Franklin Auto Group, said the family wanted to help the community support Phillips’ family.

“Trooper Phillips left behind his wife and three young boys,” Patterson said. “There’s a lot of support out there for them right now, but there’s more that is needed.”

The fundraiser’s name honors Phillips’ Kentucky State Police badge number, 369. The campaign’s goal is $36,900.

Patterson said the fund had raised more than $8,000, including the matching contributions, at the time of an interview Thursday.

Trooper Katan Parker, public affairs officer for Kentucky State Police Post Three in Bowling Green, said Phillips’ death was a loss for the agency and the troopers who worked alongside him.

“We just have to come together, be there for one another, trying to show his family that they have family in us as well,” Parker said.

Parker said he hopes people remember Phillips not only for his service as a trooper but also for the person he was.

“He was a trooper, but he was a funny guy. He was a good guy,” Parker said. “We didn’t just lose a trooper. We lost a good man.”

Donations can be made online through the Kentucky State Police Foundation⁠ by designating the gift for Trooper Hayden Phillips, or in person at any Don Franklin family dealership in Kentucky.

The fundraiser runs through Nov. 7.