NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Country music star Dolly Parton has been honored with a leadership award that is named after her.
The singer and actress received Leadership Tennessee’s first-ever Dolly Parton Excellence in Leadership Award on Saturday at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.
Leadership Tennessee officials say Parton was given the award for her “selfless work to improve lives across Tennessee.”
Parton’s “Smoky Mountains Rise” telethon raised more than $12 million for victims of the devastating Gatlinburg fires of 2016. Also, her “Imagination Library” mails free books to children from birth until they begin school, regardless of family income.
More than 100 million books have been mailed to children since 1995.
In a statement, Parton says she “truly honored and thankful” to have an award with her family name on it.