Sean Henry is an idea person, but on an April day in 2014 he found himself saying: “I had no idea.”

That’s the best place to start explaining why Henry, the Nashville Predators CEO and President, is The Tennessean Sports Person of the Year for 2016. The profitability and success of the Predators and Bridgestone Arena make Henry a viable choice, and the 2016 NHL All-Star Game — a flawless showcase of Nashville that improved the format of the game and was hailed as the best ever — makes him a strong one.

He’s the clear choice because he leads the Predators into so many endeavors that benefit this community. Professional sports franchises are expected to be involved, but this one goes well beyond obligation. And the cause that is most personal to Henry started with a meeting he wasn’t excited to take.

The 2013-14 season had just ended with no playoffs for the Predators. Henry, the self-proclaimed “worst loser in the world,” said he was “in all the wrong mood” for a lunch with Pat Shea, then CEO of the YWCA of Nashville and Middle Tennessee. It was set up by one of his close friends, Ohio Valley Conference commissioner Beth DeBauche.

“I figured she wanted a jersey or something for a fundraiser,” said Henry, 49, who was Predators COO at the time, still more than a year from taking over as CEO. “I had no idea what the YWCA was, I figured it was the female version of the YMCA. I didn’t realize that for the past 100 years it’s been protecting women and fighting against racism.”

Shea wanted to partner on a project to combat domestic violence and gave Henry some stats. One in four women will be physically abused. One in six women will be sexually abused. In Nashville, there’s a domestic violence call every 20 minutes. In Tennessee, more women are murdered by men than in 41 other states.

“I honestly didn’t believe a word she said,” Henry recalled. “The numbers were too staggering.”

Going all out

Henry brought it home to his wife of nearly 25 years, Tracey. He talked to his mother in Long Island, N.Y., and his four sisters. All of them had stories of women they knew who had been abused in some way.

MEND became Henry’s obsession. It stands for Men Ending Domestic Abuse and it was founded by Shea, who has since stepped down from the YWCA to focus on MEND.

“I like bold goals, and the goal of MEND is very simple — to end violence on women, period,” Henry said. “And when we say that, people laugh. This has been a problem for however long we’ve been walking on the Earth. The difference is, it’s always been a female problem we thought. The only way we’re going to end it is, men need to end it.”

A big part of that effort is employing coaches to help change the way boys think about girls at an early age.

About 300 have signed up, including Vanderbilt football coach Derek Mason, whose team recently went through MEND training. Tennessee State men’s basketball coach Dana Ford is on the MEND board, and former Vanderbilt basketball star Shan Foster serves as MEND director.

The words of coaches resonate with kids. “Throw like a girl” and “man up” are examples of frequent sports expressions targeted by MEND for reinforcing negative stereotypes.

The Predators have given $500,000 to the effort, a January game will be centered around domestic violence education, and Predators stars P.K. Subban, Mike Fisher and Ryan Ellis will serve as the faces of MEND. Henry is the backbone.

“Sean has been our strongest advocate in the community for this program,” said Sharon K. Roberson, new CEO of the YWCA, which remains heavily involved with MEND.

“To me, that initiative is more important than anything else I’m working on because I think it’s the biggest problem facing our community,” said Henry, whose franchise donates more than $3 million annually to various causes. “Unfortunately, those numbers are going the wrong way right now.”

This is not an issue that naturally gains traction. It’s not pediatric cancer, another extensive Predators endeavor.

But like the Predators as a profitable entity, or Bridgestone Arena as the best fan experience in the NHL, or Nashville as the standard-setter for an NHL All-Star weekend, it is a lofty goal Henry believes can be achieved.

“It’s a tough sell,” Tracey Henry said of domestic violence as a front-burner issue. “But you need an advocate, and you need a champion. And I was blown away by how Sean took this on. He just goes all in on everything, and it’s not a put-on.”

Still work to do

That was apparent to Tracey during her husband's 11-year stint as an executive with the Tampa Bay Lightning, when the family got involved with a home for abused children. When it was the Henrys' turn to have the Stanley Cup after the Lightning won it in 2004, they brought it to that home.

And it's apparent daily at Bridgestone. Predators general manager David Poile credits Henry for changing the team’s financial fortunes dramatically since arriving in 2010 with Jeff Cogen. Henry replaced Cogen as CEO in 2015 after Cogen left for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

“The franchise was in neutral or even going backward in some years,” Poile said. “Sean has been spectacular in terms of his ideas, commitment, passion and energy. Those are the words that come to mind when I think of Sean.”

At home, there are other words.

“The common goal of everyone is to make fun of stupo,” the wise-cracking Henry said, referring to his misadventures as a handyman and the delight his four children — between ages 21 and 9 — take in them.

The son of a late carpenter, Henry insists on doing it himself anyway. Tracey, who met Sean in 1990 when both worked for a food service company contracted by the Detroit Pistons, chronicles those and other family hijinks at suburbandiva.com.

The Henrys have an official red light and horn that goes off every time the Predators score a goal, though it can be programmed for other teams as well. Oldest son Steven, a junior at Belmont, once set it to all the West Coast games on his way out the door so it would go off repeatedly in the middle of the night.

This is a hockey family — Steven coaches 16-year-old Matthew and the Father Ryan team — and a fun-loving family, though everyone stays clear of Dad when the Predators lose.

“When we win,” Henry said, “everyone rides home with me.”

And for all the progress that has been made, the franchise goal is to put a Stanley Cup-winning team in the best arena in the league. Like every idea Henry’s had that seemed improbable at first, his approach is to talk about it and work on it constantly.

“We’re not there yet,” he said.

Follow Joe Rexrode on Twitter @joerexrode.

THE FINALISTS

The Tennessean sports staff also considered these finalists for the annual award:

Mookie Betts: Former Overton standout was second in the American League Most Valuable Player voting.

Kermit Davis: MTSU basketball coach guided the Blue Raiders to upset of Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament, gaining the university national exposure.

Bill Hagerty: Nashville businessman and former aide in Tennessee state government has spearheaded push for Major League Soccer team in Nashville.

Derek Mason. Vanderbilt football coach put the Commodores back on the SEC map, pulling a couple of upsets and getting the program to its eighth bowl game.

David Poile: Predators' general manager made gutsy moves by trading two of the team's top players (Shea Weber, Seth Jones) and also managing a team that that advanced to the Western Conference semifinals for just the second time.

David Price: Red Sox pitcher and Vanderbilt alum donated $2.5 million to the university to be used toward building new baseball training facility.

Jon Robinson. Titans’ general manager's first year moves have made the NFL franchise relevant again.

Amy Adams Strunk: Titans' controlling owner gave the franchise a more visible leadership, spending millions upgrading the team training facility and Nissan Stadium as well as making positive hires in general manager Jon Robinson and coach Mike Mularkey.

Ben Zobrist: Franklin resident and Cubs outfielder was the Most Valuable Player of the World Series.