George, Havoc guided by little angel

HUNTSVILLE, Ala – Last January, SPHL Editor Don Money had the opportunity to work with the Huntsville Havoc and Chris George on a story about the team’s annual “Melissa George Night” benefiting the Melissa George Fund and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Huntsville Hospital. This year’s game will be held on Saturday January 9, 2010 when Huntsville hosts Mississippi. Proceeds from the auction of special game jerseys and warm-up sticks will go to the fund to help purchase Giraffe Warmers for the NICU. These warmers help critically ill newborns by providing uninterrupted thermal support. Last year’s game raised over $51,000 and in three years, the Havoc have helped to raise over $170,000. The first 1,000 fans who bring an item such as clothing, caps, booties, blankets and disposable cameras for the NICU to this year’s game will receive a free Havoc “Melissa George Night” retro tin lunchbox. With a nod to this year’s event, here is a reprinting of PHN’s original January 14, 2009 story… HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Chris George never played one shift of hockey for the Huntsville Havoc. Never scored a goal. Never recorded an assist. This weekend, he will become part of the Havoc family thanks in part to a very special little angel. Saturday night, George will step on the ice for a shift wearing a Havoc jersey

and later watch as his number 17 is retired to the rafters of the Von Braun Center as part of the Havoc’s third annual “Melissa George Night” benefiting the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children. “I never played for that ownership. I never played for Keith (Jeffries, Havoc owner) or Ashley (Balch, Havoc V.P. of Business Operations) or Kevin (Walker, Havoc President/G.M.),“ George said. “I’m honored and humbled that they would think that much of me but more importantly that they would think that much of our fund and our family to want to do this for us and for the community.” The love affair between George and the city of Huntsville began in 1996. The Kitchener, Ontario native was in his third pro season which included stops in Tallahassee (ECHL) and Daytona Beach (SHL). Three games into the 1996-1997 season, the Columbus Cottonmouths – then in the CHL – sent George to the Huntsville Channel Cats. In four seasons with the Channel Cats, George amassed 188 goals and 156 assists for 344 points in 264 games. He added another 12 goals and 14 helpers in 32 playoff contests. When the Channel Cats were replaced by the Huntsville Tornado for the 2000-2001 season, George remained and tacked another 46 goals, 19 assists and 65 points to his resume. The fans of Huntsville were sad to see him leave for Indianapolis and what would be his final campaign during the 2001-2002 season. During his time with the Channel Cats and the Tornado, George had fallen in love with Huntsville. It was where he met his wife Amy, who at the time was a news anchor for WHNT-TV and it was where his family would call home. Early in 2005, Amy gave birth to twins Melissa and Ann Catherine prematurely at 26 weeks, 14 weeks early. Ann Catherine was 1 pound 15 ounces while Melissa weighed in at 1 pound 9 ounces. Melissa passed away in the unit, surrounded by her family and a “second family” – the nurses who attended the NICU – who cared about her just as much as if she were their own. Ann Catherine stayed in the unit for 68 days and with the work of the medical staff was finally able to go home. Seeing how the doctors and nurses did their jobs left a profound impression on the Georges. “When you can’t hold your baby or touch them because the less stimulation they have, the stronger they get and the more they grow, they (nurses) become the caregivers of your most precious commodity – your children,” Chris George said. “They embraced us and we embraced them as family. That NICU is something special.” The experience prompted Chris and Amy to set up the “Melissa George Neonatal Memorial Fund” as a way of saying thank you and to help the unit acquire much needed supplies such as clothing, caps, disposable cameras, booties and blankets as well as monetary donations to assist with purchases of equipment. The Havoc became involved early on, wearing patches with the fund’s logo as well as preparing a jersey with the name “George” and the number 17 on it for select auction nights. Each and every penny went to the fund. In 2007, the team decided to dedicate an entire game to the fund, designing a full set of jerseys to be auctioned off following the contest with all of the money going to the fund. In the first two years of putting on “Melissa George Night”, the event had brought in over $115,000 for the fund. This year, in addition to the game jersey auction, the Havoc players will use special pink-colored sticks during pre-game warm-ups. During the game, the team will run a silent auction with each stick going to the highest bidder. “We had always done a military auction for the army but we didn’t really have another one that we were really tied to,“ Balch said. “This one seemed to make sense because of the (hockey) connection and what they had done for us, both of them really.” The meaning of the event has taken on a more personal tone as several members of the Havoc family have had their lives touched by the work of the NICU. Team president Kevin Walker’s son spent some time in the unit and owner Keith Jeffries’ new granddaughter recently spent time there following surgery before coming home around Christmas. “It seems like the hockey community has had a lot (of experience with the NICU). Former players who have had children there, a grandchild of mine recently had to have surgery and spent a couple of weeks up there,” Jeffries said. “It’s ironic, or interesting at least, that a charity we have been supporting had benefited a lot of hockey people. The hockey community is generous – the fans, the players with their time. It is good to see a guy like Chris who made well, married, let this become home and is doing something to benefit the community.” Jeffries’ sentiments about the generosity and caring of the hockey community – and in particular the people of Huntsville – are shared by George and his family. “We (the George family) may be the four front people on our daughter’s fund but it is the community that makes it what it is,” he said. “The hockey community in Huntsville, I don’t think there’s a fan base that is any more giving than they are. They have embraced this event and every event the Havoc put on when it comes to charity, they come out and give and I know they’re giving not only their money but with their hearts and prayers as well.” When asked about why people should support neonatal intensive care units, George thought for a moment and then spoke from the heart. “The NIC unit itself is a very unique place. It’s a place where you don’t know about it until you experience it. Once you’ve experienced being in a NICU, you’re forever changed no matter the outcome,” he said. “Until you or your family is touched by a NICU, you don’t realize how important they are. They’re taking God’s tiniest miracles and giving them a chance at life.” As for the game and his one shift on Saturday night, George was keeping his own expectations low. “Hopefully I’ll be able to survive. I’ve skated a couple of times since they approached me about doing it two weeks ago,” he said. “I haven’t had my gear on since my last game in March of 2002. I’ll be good for one shift and that’ll be about it. I just hope I do my family proud.” With a certain little guardian angel by his side, there is no way Chris George can fail. For more information on the Melissa George Fund, go to www.huntsvillehospital.org/foundation/melissageorgefund. Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com