Nashville Predators president/CEO Sean Henry discusses F&M Bank Arena with APSU College of Business
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Austin Peay State University College of Business, in partnership with Legends Bank, hosted Nashville Predators president and CEO Sean Henry for the Legends of Business Speaker series last week. The series connects business leaders from the Middle Tennessee region with APSU students to enable them to learn directly from industry pros. Henry shared his story and lessons in leadership with the APSU community.
“Fun” and “hard work” were the keywords he expanded upon most during his talk. “If you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, change what you’re doing,” he said. “I was a very average guy, the one thing I could control was my work ethic. Hard work always pays off.”
When asked what characteristics he most enjoyed being around, he said, “Work ethic, attitude and caring about the person next to you. If you have an idea, you better be able to articulate what the goal is, sell that goal to the people around you, and the guy next to you better be willing to jump in head first to bring your idea to life.”
He also took time to share a bit more about the highly anticipated F&M Bank Arena currently under construction in downtown Clarksville.
“Well if you get a chance and you see your Athletic Director, Gerald Harrison, or Mayor of Montgomery County, Jim Durrett – thank them. Jim Durrett had a vision that I thought he was crazy about. But I do love visions, ideas, and passion. We were going to build a Ford Ice Center in Montgomery County - two sheets of ice. It was going to be spectacular. We were going to have the kids playing hockey, adult hockey, and tap into the military world.
“Mayor Durrett said this is really neat, but what if we build an arena. I said yeah well they are like mini arenas and he said ‘no, I mean an ARENA.’ He wanted to take the center of Clarksville and connect better to campus and do for downtown Clarksville what Bridgestone Arena did for Nashville.
“I can promise you this,” Henry continued, “It will be one of the busiest mid-size arenas in the country because what we do really well is bring people together. Engaging with campus more directly, it will bring more job opportunities, internship programs and part-time jobs. It will allow students to partake in something that will elevate their college experience.”
When asked for comment, Durrett said, “It’s been an amazing experience working with Austin Peay Athletic Director Gerald Harrison and the entire APSU team, as well as Nashville Predators CEO Sean Henry and the Preds team on the F&M Bank Arena Project! We know the arena is going to add an element of excitement that we’ve never experienced in our community before. Our partnership with them has helped make this dream a reality for Montgomery County.”
The celebration of the partnership between Austin Peay and the Nashville Predators will continue through the weekend as Mayor Durrett proclaimed Saturday, Nov. 20, as Nashville Preds Day in Montgomery County. The Preds will join Austin Peay Saturday as the Governors take on Tennessee Tech University for the final home game of the season. Gnash will also be in attendance for the opening night of the downtown ice rink.
The Legends Speaker Series will return to APSU in Spring of 2022 bringing more leaders to the campus community. For more information about the speaker series, contact Elaina Russell at russelle@apsu.edu.
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