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Three Lessons I Learned From Dolly Parton
Karen Hall • Nov 13, 2017
Dolly Parton is the most honored female country performer of all time. A little list of achievements (from Wikipedia) follows:
She has won nine Grammy Awards (nominated for 47), received two Academy Award nominations, ten Country Music Association Awards, seven Academy of Country Music Awards, three American Music Awards, and is one of only seven female artists to win the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year Award.
As a fellow native Tennessean, I’ve always admired her style and laid back attitude. There are a multitude of lessons Dolly Parton has taught through her life. I’ve focused on three.
1) Your current environment/situation does not dictate your future
Dolly was certainly not born into fame and fortune. She was one of 12 children living in rural East Tennessee and as she puts it, she grew up “dirt poor.” But that didn’t stop her from finding a way to share her talent with the world. Dolly started her “career” at a young age, like many singers do, in church. She rose above her situation to become famous and wealthy.
2) Be generous
Dolly has long been known for her philanthropy. Through her Dollywood Foundation she has raised funds primarily for literacy. Her Imagination Library currently services 1M children per month. Recently she “helped” the residents of the Smoky Mountain area devastated by fires. Every family who lost their house received $1,000 each month and when they picked up their final checks were surprised and I expect delighted to find them in the amount of $5,000.
3) “Fix up” if you are going out (and maybe even if you are staying in)
Dolly is 71 years old and I believe you’ll agree with me that she is beautiful. And not beautiful for her age – pretty much beautiful for any age. She always dresses and accessorizes perfectly. Her hair (sometimes wigs) and makeup are flawless. Even though her personal life is mostly kept private (her husband of 51 years has rarely been photographed or seen in public with her), I imagine her looking great around the house as well. Dolly admits to, without shame, numerous plastic surgeries and when asked about future plastic surgeries, she famously said: “If I see something sagging, bagging or dragging, I’ll get it nipped, tucked or sucked.”
You go girl!
What lessons has Dolly taught you?
We’re back with another creative croux feature. Normally, these pieces are put together by one of our freelance writers, Annie Van Essen, but this time, we’re spotlighting her!
We celebrated our 10-year anniversary in July 2023, making this our tenth Mardi Gras as a krewe. We are so thankful for the many projects, partnerships, clients and friends who have been a part of our journey so far. The essence of Mardi Gras can be summed up in one lighthearted phrase, “ Laissez les bons temps rouler!” — French, for “Let the good times roll!” We’ve had a lot of good times here at roux over the last decade, and we’re excited for them to keep on rollin’. Bon Mardi Gras and merci beaucoup, friends!
Every January we like to gather as a croux and plan for the year ahead. It serves as a holiday celebration and a strategy session. We look forward to it every year. Over the last few years, we’ve also begun incorporating a “word of the year” practice, where we each choose a word that we will focus on throughout the year.
This year, we decided to take our merry-making to the streets of Nashville to see how well the average passerby could interpret some of our favorite Creole vocab. The results were… entertaining. See for yourself!
Every year, our croux puts together a roundup of our favorite Super Bowl commercials.
This time around, we thought we’d switch it up and ask for submissions of our team’s favorite commercials EVER. Whether from 2023 or 2003, we want to celebrate the advertising magic of Super Bowl Sunday.
Here at roux, we have a wonderful team of creatives supporting us, including photographers, videographers, writers, and designers.
Today, we’re excited to introduce you to Kyle Sorvick, one of the talented graphic designers we work with as part of our extended croux.
We all look forward to receiving Christmas greetings from friends and loved ones, whether it’s a social media post or a physical card to display in our house or hang on the fridge. But when it comes to company Christmas cards, corporate greetings can sometimes fall a bit flat. We love when a company spices things up and sends a message that’s genuine and fun. Videos can also be a more effective and affordable option for a company, when you consider the reach made possible with email and social media, and the savings on printing and postage. Averitt and JetRight are two local companies that knock it out of the park every year when it comes to their video Christmas cards. Whether they choose to be lighthearted and silly or share a heartwarming message, watching their videos shows you the real people and spirit behind the companies. Check them out below!
Add Zydeco dust to your fried turkey recipe to add some extra flare.