Ohio’s Governor Gives Dolly Parton Her Own Official Day

It seems like Dolly Parton is always doing some good, and now the state of Ohio is recognizing her for it: Governor Mike DeWine declared that in the state, August 9 is now Dolly Parton Day.

The official proclamation further outlines the reasons for the honor, reading in part, “Whereas, celebrated country music performer Dolly Parton is widely regarded not only for her achievements as a singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, but also as an actress, author, businesswoman, humanitarian and philanthropist; and whereas, among her philanthropic ventures, in 1995, she launched Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to instill a love of reading among the children of Sevier County, Tennessee, where she grew up; and whereas, Dolly soon expanded the effort and began mailing one free, age-appropriate book to children every month from birth to age 5. […] Whereas, the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Of Ohio, founded in 2019 with financial support from the Ohio General Assembly and affiliates across the state, is available in all 88 counties. Whereas, today, more than 327,000 kids in Ohio receive their free book through the program each month.”

The day was declared in preparation of Parton’s visit to the state yesterday (August 9), where she spoke at Ohio State University’s Ohio Union about her free book program. Per The Columbus Dispatch, she explained the motivation behind the program, saying, “Daddy didn’t get a chance to read and write and he was always kind of embarrassed by that. I just always felt my heart was always heavy that my Daddy felt like there was something he couldn’t do, because we thought he could do anything.”

Parton also showed off her classic wit when asked how she’d like to be remembered in 100 years, responding, “I want them to say, ‘Golly, she looks good for her age.’ But in addition to that, I just want to be a person remembered for trying to make life a little better for myself as well as everybody else.”