Homecoming in June, 2011!

Every two years the international Imagination Library family convenes near The Dollywood Foundation in Tennessee to share ideas and celebrate our successes. Affiliates from The United Kingdom, Canada, and The United States will gather as the meeting will commence on June 14, 2011 and conclude on June 17, 2011.

As in the past, the agenda will focus on the topics which will help organizations launch, grow and sustain their Imagination Library program. Currently there are almost 1,300 communities in these three countries providing books to just under 600,000 children each month.

Homecoming 2011 is way more fun than your average run of the mill national conference. Literary experts will lead sessions which will inform and inspire. In 2009, Anna Dewdney (author of "Llama, Llama Red Pajama") was a big hit so the search is on to secure another author who can entertain, educate… and sign their cool books!

DOLLY PARTON PAYS TRIBUTE TO PORTER WAGONER AND DON WARDEN

Sevier County superstar Dolly Parton took some personal time off from her busy press schedule Saturday to celebrate the life and music of former television partner and mentor, Porter Wagoner. In her own Celebrity Theater, the singer spent an emotional and poignant afternoon singing the songs and sharing the stories of the time she and Porter spent together and the impact the legend had on all who surrounded him. Parton also took the opportunity to surprise manager, and original Wagon Master, Don Warden with an induction into the Missouri based Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. The Dollywood Theater was transformed with familiar sets from the long-running country music show and Dolly’s band, The Backwoods Boys, dressed in the signature costumes from the era. Dolly, herself, wore a Porter-inspired outfit to set the mood for the afternoon.

“This won’t be a sad time,” she assured the crowd. “This will be a happy time!” The private event was attended by Wagoner’s children and grand children and many of the Grand Ole Opry stars who had performed with him during his long and successful career. “The Porter Wagoner Show” debuted on syndicated television in 1960 and the flashy country star brought new talent Dolly Parton aboard in 1967. Parton credits his support and the popularity of their duets together, as the foundation of her own success.
During the emotional memorial, Wagon Master steel guitar player Don Warden was surprised by Parton with a tribute of his own. Dressed in the original costume he wore on the famed show, Warden was gifted with a sculpture from Parton who described him as her “Angel on Earth” and told of his induction into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. When Dolly left the Porter Wagoner Show, Warden went with her as manager and has remained with her as an adviser through the years. This very special tribute marked the first time the two had performed together in 34 years.

Eyes glistening with tears, Parton closed the memorial with the original version of her 1974 musical farewell to their partnership, “I Will Always Love You”. “Not a dry eye in the house,” says Sevierville media artist Jacob Timmons, who designed and manages Parton’s web empire. “The whole first row of the theater was Porter’s family, the second row was legends from the Grand Ole Opry. It was a powerful and moving expression of love”. Porter Wagoner died on October 28, 2007, in Nashville Tennessee. His career spanned seven decades.
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Dolly Parton delights fansaround the world in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee Parade

As thunder storms and funnel clouds ripped through East Tennessee yesterday, Pigeon Forge had their own special angel keeping skies sunny and dry! This area's favorite daughter, Dolly Parton, welcomed Spring with her annual parade down the city's main street, and even the weather seemed to be under her spell.From the Dollywood Foundation offices to Wears Valley Road, eager fans lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the Backwoods Barbie and, as usual, she didn't disappoint! Signature smile (and wig!) glowing, looking full of life and bursting with happiness, Dolly waved and chatted with the crowd from atop her new custom built float.Sharing time with her home town fans before jetting off to a year-long World Tour, Dolly has had a busy Spring already; appearing as a mentor on Fox Television's popular hit, American Idol and promoting her latest album. Not likely a few rain drops would dampen her enthusiasm or that of the crowds cheering her on.The yearly tradition celebrates the official Grand Opening weekend of the star's Dollywood Theme Park and has become an eagerly awaited kick-off for summer in the Smokey Mountains.

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League of Extraordinary Teens in Cleveland, Tennessee

Bradley County now has four members of the League of Extraordinary Teens, a program of the Governor's Books from Birth Foundation in accordance with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
All four League members are students at Walker Valley High School, and are members of that school's Beta Club. They include 10th graders Melani Owens, Bethany Thomason and Joshua Eckelberry, and 12th grader Dani Armstrong.
Armstrong was the first to complete her requirements for League inclusion, and Owens, Thomason and Eckelberry soon followed. Each took on the task of meeting League requirements as a Beta Club project.
A program of the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation, the League of Extraordinary Teens is a unique and hands-on statewide initiative seeking to engage Tennesseans ages 13 to 19 in the financial and logistical support of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. League membership requires teens to personally register a minimum of 10 children and raise a minimum of $135 to cover the cost of enrolling those children in their county's Imagination Library for a full year.
In all, these four students raised over $900 and signed up well over the minimum requirement.
“I was so proud to see them take on this project and run with it,” said WVHS Beta Club sponsor Ashley Fox. “It is such a good program to get these books into the hands of pre-school children, and I know that these students feel the same.”
The Dolly Parton Imagination Library mails a new, age-appropriate, hardcover book every month to children from birth to the time they turn five, at no cost to the family. United Way of Bradley County administers the program locally.
Beta Club members at Walker Valley High School, Bradley Central High School and Cleveland High School worked earlier this year on a project where they were helping sign up children for the program at a home football game. Several children were signed up during that project, and money was also raised then for the program.
“It is wonderful to see these students getting involved in helping us not only sign up children for the Imagination Library and raise funds to help us locally but also to be good spokespersons for the program,” said United Way of Bradley County President and CEO Brenda Abel. “We appreciate Melanie, Brittany, Joshua and Dani, and the other Beta Club members in our community, who have been involved.”
Currently, 208 teenagers representing 36 counties have already been inducted and countless others are creatively working toward membership in the League of Extraordinary Teens. These teen-agers have personally registered more than 2,290 children and personally raised more than $28,645 for their counties’ Imagination Library program. Additionally, nine counties have received donations from local Beta Clubs totaling more than $3,835.
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