Morehouse thrilled to accept Dapper Dan Freddie Fu Leadership Award

When David Morehouse was a kid growing up on Pauline Avenue in the Beechview neighborhood of Pittsburgh, he couldn't wait to check the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at this time each year to see who the newspaper had named the Dapper Dan "Sportsman of the Year." That's why it's surreal for Morehouse to be among this year's honorees.

The Penguins president and CEO was awarded the 2018 Dapper Dan Freddie Fu Leadership Award at the annual dinner and sports auction, which took place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Wednesday.
"For someone who grew up in Pittsburgh, it's kind of unbelievable," Morehouse said. "Then when I look at what I'm being honored for, it's actually the people around me who deserve the award. It's the players, it's the coach, it's the GM, it's the ownership. You surround yourself with good people and they call you the Leader of the Year.
"So I think best thing I've done is I've been able to assemble a team, I've been fortunate to have an ownership group that wants to win more than anything else. I think that's why I'm being recognized as a leader. It's more a representation of the Penguins organization."
Many members of the Penguins organization were in attendance to show their support for Morehouse, including the entire coaching staff and general manager Jim Rutherford, who presented him with the award. Which was fitting, since it was a fateful phone call from Morehouse that brought him back here in the first place.
"It's a great honor for me because the reason I'm in Pittsburgh is because of David," Rutherford said. "I was thinking of retiring and David called me and asked me if I'd like to come here. He's my boss, but he's a friend. I just really appreciate everything he does for the Penguins."
Rutherford praised Morehouse's leadership style, calling him an "ideas guy." Which is evident in how Morehouse has reshaped the Penguins' strategic vision with an emphasis on branding, fan relations, community interaction, corporate outreach and cutting-edge technology while maintaining a high level of performance on the ice.
In 11 seasons as a senior executive with the Penguins, Morehouse has seen the team win three Stanley Cups, make the Cup Final four times and reach the conference finals five times. And perhaps most important was the influence Morehouse had on the development of PPG Paints Arena and keeping the Penguins where they belong - right here in Pittsburgh.
"We have great leaders with the Penguins starting with Mario Lemieux, Ron Burkle, Mike Sullivan, Sidney Crosby. But the guy that is the leader on a day-to-day basis that we see all the time is David Morehouse," Rutherford said.
"He has experience. He helps us through the tough times. He sets the tone for the organization on a regular basis. David is highly respected by the owners, by the management group, by the players, by the people of Pittsburgh and he has his name on the Stanley Cup three times. And it's well-deserved. He played a big role in it."
During his speech, Morehouse thanked his wife Vanessa, who he called the "most important leader in my life." He also found himself reflecting on his roots.
Many of his childhood friends that he spent all day and night playing sports with in that Beechview neighborhood, with its cobblestone streets and steep hills, were in attendance at the event. And during his speech, Morehouse thanked them for helping establish the foundation that he's built an incredible career on.
"We had fun," Morehouse said. "We were mischievous. We got close to the line. Some of us crossed it, some of us didn't. But we all were good people and what they taught me growing up was about loyalty, being able to take a punch and getting up after you take a punch, trying, working hard, having fun, having someone's back. All the things that I apply today to my leadership with the Penguins, I learned on those cobblestone streets of Beechview and from my family and from my mother."