The Dollywood Foundation – Canada

Chairperson

Dolly Parton is a worldwide icon with unprecedented success in music, entertainment, business and philanthropy. Including her eight Grammy Awards, Dolly is the most honored female country performer of all time. Yet her achievements transcend her entertainment career.

In 1999 Dolly was inducted as a member of the ountry Music Hall of Fame. She has her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and became a member of the National Academy of Popular Music Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001. Broadcast Music Inc. honored her with their Icon Award in 2003, and in 2004 the U.S. Library of Congress presented her with their Living Legend Award for her contribution to the cultural heritage of the United States. This was followed in 2005 with the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor given by the U.S. government for excellence in the arts.

As a businesswoman, she flourishes with a talent to produce some of the nations best family-friendly entertainment attractions including Dollywood, DreamMore Resort, Dolly Parton’s Stampede, Pirates Voyage and Smoky Mountain Adventures.

In 1995, Dolly launched an exciting new effort, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, to benefit the children of her home county in East Tennessee, USA. Inspired by her father, Dolly’s vision was to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families.

Dolly’s dream grew year by year and country by country and today her Imagination Library mails over one million specially selected, age-appropriate books monthly to registered children from birth to age five.