Chase Brannan during during the district Hi-Q match late last year.

Chase Brannan of Macclenny was born almost totally deaf.

At first, he appeared to be like every other baby. But after about six months, his mother and father understood something was wrong.

His father, Chuck Brannan, once banged a metal pan behind his head to test his son’s reaction.

There was none.

That led to further testing of Chase’s hearing, this time with a device that monitors brain waives. It confirmed Chase, now 19 years old, had only a “residual” amount of hearing — less than 5 percent of what most of us have.

“We were just floored,” said Mr. Brannan.

He said there was no history of deafness in the family. Genetic testing of his father and mother, who died when Chase was in seventh grade, didn’t reveal the cause either.

“They told us it was a fluke,” Mr. Brannan said.

Hearing aides at 2 years old were the first step, then came a special school in Jacksonville, one of a handful of the Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech in the nation. There he began to learn how to listen and speak.

Shortly before his sixth birthday, Chase underwent surgery to improve his hearing even further.

"Bear" Woods

Jonathan “Bear” Woods, a Macclenny native and linebacker in the Canadian Football League, shared his story of perseverance with some two dozen youths playing in the Dare to be Different 3-0n-3 Basketball Tournament May 4.

Hoping to inspire the young athletes gathered in the BCHS gym, the former Wildcat standout, Troy University graduate and former Atlanta Falcons player described overcoming the low expectations of others throughout his career and eventually earning a spot with the Montreal Alouettes.

The secret to his success, he said, was relentless preparation, determination and not taking no for an answer.

VIDEO: Click for video from Mr. Woods’ talk and an exclusive on-camera interview with The Press.

Paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Woods said, “I would repeat to myself over and over, I will study and prepare so when my opportunity comes, I will be ready. That’s what I live by.”

As a freshman walk-on at Troy in Alabama, Mr. Woods set his sights on securing an athletic scholarship and a starting position on the football roster. It took two years and a new coaching staff, but he got both.

He said the toughest point of his career was when the Trojan coaching staff sat him down and told him he was a good back-up, but he’d never be a starter at Troy.

 “I said, ‘I respect your opinion, but I disagree with you. I’m a starter. I’m going to start on this team,” he told the coaches.

And he did. Despite his small size for a linebacker (he’s 6 feet, 245 pounds), Mr. Woods went on to lead the nation in tackles before suffering an injury.

“I relish that point in my life, seeing my name at the top of that stat board,” he said.

Eight years ago Bo Thomas beat cancer. Today he still battles the effects caused by nine months of radiation treatment, which vanquished the disease but damaged his body, too.

“Chemo’s even worse,” said Mr. Thomas, a Macclenny native residing in Raiford.

“Even if you get over the cancer, the treatment causes a lot of other health problems. I’ve had stomach surgery twice ... You pretty much have to deal with it the rest of your life,” he said.

Mr. Thomas is a guitarist and singer with Whiskey Moon String Band, which performed 15 songs during an hour-long set at last weekend’s 2013 Relay For Life at the middle school’s track.

“I’ve been to a few relays before for personal support, but this was the first time for the band,” he said. “We would do it again in a heartbeat.”

Below are the schedule and map for the 2013 Baker County Relay For Life on April 26 and 27 at Baker County Middle School. For more information, please contact Kristie Fletcher at (904) 708-9013.