Huntsville Havoc
Special Achievement Award
For the past 21 seasons, the Huntsville Havoc have been a rousing success, a study in fan loyalty and consistent, imaginative leadership. The Havoc, being honored by the Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame with its Special Achievement Award, have established themselves as the city’s most successful long-term sporting venture ever.
It is more than longevity that earns the honor, however. The Havoc have been a perennial contender for championships in the Southern Professional Hockey League, winning three titles and reaching the finals two other occasions, including last season under first-year coach and former star Stuart Stefan. They consistently lead the league in attendance, with more than 800 fans per game higher than the league average. Perhaps most notably, the organization has helped raise millions of dollars for local charities.
All this after pro hockey seemed to be skating on thin ice here, with failed franchises, lackluster and bumbling ownerships and a two-year suspension of play.
Then, a low-key, no-ego man named Keith Jeffries galloped to the rescue as the team owner two decades ago, rebranding the team, forging a thriving partnership with the landlord Von Braun Center and applying customer-first business practices.
“It probably helped that I didn’t know anything about hockey,” Jeffries likes to joke. “We haven’t made this about hockey.”
Jeffries had been co-owner of Golden Rule Printing, then worked in commercial real estate before “looking for that second career.” He had made previous inquiries about the Channel Cats, so his name was on the radar for the VBC as the effort began to salvage pro hockey here.
“It’s been stable for 20 years,” Jeffries says. “And this building has continued to improve the facilities through that 20 years. You look at what it was and what it is now and what they’re continuing to do. And Huntsville has grown like mad, bringing people in from places that were hockey markets. So it’s all of it combined. I don’t know that there’s a secret sauce.”
Few names are more synonymous with professional hockey in Huntsville than Chris George, whose number was retired by the Channel Cats and who was inducted into this Hall of Fame in 2019. Few offer a better perspective on the Havoc.
“I think it's local ownership and community involvement,” George says. “Keith and Becky Jeffries have created a culture there that gives back to the community, and the community acknowledges that they put on a great product. The hockey is almost secondary sometimes, with all the stuff that goes on for the fans.”
“The reason that they've been a success is because of the effort they put in, the sweat equity,” Mayor Tommy Battle says. “They’re always trying something different … Night after night after night they're sold out and they bring a good level of hockey to this town.”
“It’s because Keith Jeffries has done such a great job,” says Ron Evans, former executive director of the VBC. “Whatever he inherited in terms of interest of hockey when he bought the team, it could have easily been frittered away. But he and his organization did not do that. They’ve done an outstanding job.”
“It’s not me,” Jeffries quickly argues. “We’ve had some good people through the years. Nobody does it by themselves. And God has continued to bless this building and this business.”
The Havoc, which celebrated its 20th season in 2023-24 just as the Von Braun Center was approaching its 50th, has been profoundly generous with charitable endeavors. Several years ago, St. Jude’s Hospital listed its promotion with the Havoc as one of its top 10 fund-raising events. Locally, the most notable and enduring is led by George and wife Amy. The Melissa George Memorial Neonatal Fund, which provides equipment for Huntsville Hospital and is named for their late daughter, is annually supported by the Havoc with a designated game, complete with unique jerseys and sellout crowds. After 19 such games, the Havoc hit the $1 million mark in contributions to the fund this past January. “That’s just crazy,” George says.
“I’m not a rich guy. I can’t write big checks,” Jeffries says. “But we can give our fan base an opportunity to give and they do. They’ve proven to be incredibly generous.”
“I’m amazed every year with the hockey fans in Huntsville, how generous they are, how big their hearts are,” says Amy.
-- Mark McCarter
