Chuck Bradford is a busy man.
He is an assistant manager at the Walmart Supercenter in Searcy, an alderman for the Bald Knob City Council and a volunteer firefighter for the Bald Knob Fire Department. But on top of all that, Bradford, 56, has a big heart, and he proved that by helping honor a 5-year-old boy who has cancer make his wish of being a firefighter come true.
And for all that, Bradford was honored as the Bald Knob Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year at a banquet Feb. 2 at the Bald Knob High School cafeteria.
“It just dumbfounded me,” Bradford said of receiving the honor. “It caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting it. When they said it, it just kinda got me. It was a great honor.”
A statement was read announcing the recipient of the award.
During the reading, Bradford figured it out that he was the recipient, especially when the statement talked about when he moved to Bald Knob and when he started working for the Fire Department. And the kicker was when he helped organize a day for Gage Stephens, a cancer patient from Lonoke.
“This person found out about Gage while he was at work one day,” the statement said. “All this little boy dreamed of was being a firefighter. Well, this person got with Chief [Danny] Holobaugh and told him about Gage and said he would like to do something for him, so they did.
“His passion is to make kids happy. There are more stories to tell about this person — how he has helped people who needed help with either food, gas, helping to fix their broken cars, rides to work — but we don’t have time for all of them.”
Another thing that gave it away for Bradford was that two of his children, Justin Bradford and Amanda Eubanks, attended the banquet.
“On this particular night, my youngest son and daughter showed up [in Bald Knob],” Bradford said. “I thought that was weird. I said, ‘What are you doing here?’”
Bradford said his children told him that they, along with him and his wife, Anita, would go to a restaurant between Bald Knob and Batesville. Bradford said they usually don’t go out on Thursdays.
Also, when the announcement was being made at the banquet, Bradford knew it was about him when it said, “they have four children between them.”
“This is what got me,” he said. “I just threw my hands in my face.”
Bradford said he’s not looking for recognition when he does things for other people. However, the event to honor Gage Stephens was definitely a big one.
“I wouldn’t do anything for that reason,” he said, referring to being honored by the chamber. “I got recognized for it, and I really appreciate it.”
Bradford said a woman he works with, Donna Middleton, heard about Gage’s situation. He was diagnosed with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia at a young age.
“She was telling me about Gage even before this time,” Bradford said, referring to his illness. “She said that he likes fireman stuff. She was telling me how Make-A-Wish was doing some stuff for him, and they did.”
Bradford was told that Gage wanted some things to decorate his room, so he donated his first fire light that he had in his truck when he became a Bald Knob firefighter 12 years ago. It was on a shelf in his shop.
“I said, ‘I’ll bring that to him,’” Bradford said. “It just went on. Then probably two or three months later, Donna said she’d like to take Gage to a fire department and show him around. I said to take him to Lonoke. Most fire departments would be tickled for a kid to come in and be able to show him stuff, especially one who wants to be a firefighter.”
Bradford said he was told that Gage was taken to the Lonoke Fire Department, but not much was done there.
“It kind of shocked me, especially about a kid,” he said. “I thought about it. I got home that night and called Danny [Holobaugh], and the rest is history.”
Gage was given a day at the Bald Knob Fire Department on Nov. 12.
Bradford said Holobaugh told him to do what he needed to do to make it happen for Gage.
“Outside of family, that was just the biggest thing — a blessing to see his little eyes light up,” Bradford said.
During the event, Gage was picked up in a firetruck and taken to the Fire Department. He got his own fire boots, a helmet with his name on it and a real fire badge.
And it didn’t stop there with Bradford and Gage.
Gage said he wanted a motorized firetruck for Christmas. Bradford said he and the other firefighters got together to order one for Gage. Because of the item being out of stock so many different places, they gave him the truck in January.
Gage’s grandmother Ann Whitsett was appreciative of what Bradford and the Bald Knob Fire Department did for her family.
“They were awesome,” she said. “They made his dream come true. He got to ride on the firetruck. He just had a ball. He looked at everything. They got him a firetruck for Christmas that he rides all the time. They were awesome people.”
Whitsett said Gage has gone through numerous treatments, including chemotherapy, bone-marrow transplants and radiation. Wednesday, he had surgery to straighten one of eyes that was crooked because of the treatments.
“He’s in remission,” she said. “He’s going good. He had eye surgery yesterday, and he’s up going today.”
Bradford said he originally got on the Fire Department in 2005, a month after he got on the City Council.
“I wanted to get on the Fire Department and get involved in the community,” he said. “I’ve been there ever since.”
Bradford is currently the department’s training instructor and Firewise coordinator.
During his time away from work, Bradford works on projects in the community.
“I started pushing for a new animal shelter when I got on the City Council,” he said. “We have outside kennels. This weekend (referring to April 8-9), we were building metal awnings over the outside kennels.”
Bradford believes in community spirit.
“I really try to get involved,” he said. “Sometimes, it eats up a lot of your time, but if you’re going to be in something, I feel like if you’re going do it, do it.”
Bradford is originally from Paragould. He started working at Walmart as an hourly associate in 1987. He got into management and left Paragould in 1987. He’s lived several places over the years and started working at the Searcy store in 1998.
“I met my wife, Anita, in 1999, and we got married in 2000,” Bradford said. “She lived in Bald Knob, and I moved here.”
Bradford said he worked at a Walmart in Little Rock for several years while commuting before coming back to work in Searcy in the past few years.
“I like where I live,” he said.
Staff writer Mark Buffalo can be reached at (501) 399-3676 or mbuffalo@arkansasonline.com.