Country music icon Dolly Parton last week returned to the flood-ravaged area of eastern Tennessee where she grew up, joining Walmart officials to announce their donations to Hurricane Helene relief efforts. Clad in a black-and-white check dress, Parton stood in the parking lot of a Walmart Supercenter in Newport, Tennessee, to say she was contributing $1 million from "my own bank account" to help those affected by the deadly storm. Her businesses, including Dollywood Parks & Resorts, chipped in $1 million on their own.
And Walmart pledged to increase its commitment to $10 million, up from $6 million, to support relief efforts across Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
"I really wish that we were all together for another reason, but we all have seen the devastation," Parton said at the news conference. "I mean, who knew in our little part of the country here where I was born and raised just right down the road that we would have this kind of devastation. And I look around and I think, these are my mountains. These are my valleys. ... These are my people, and this is my home."
John Furner, president and CEO of Walmart U.S., was also on hand and explained his connection to the region.
"Now, my dad was with Walmart for over 20 years," Furner said. "And in 1979, we moved our family to Franklin, Tennessee. And the reason we went to Franklin, that was the eastern edge of the company. We had only expanded to Nashville. So while I was living in Franklin, I watched and got to be a part of seeing Walmart move into Appalachia to eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, western South Carolina, Georgia, the places that are affected. So I want you to know that this is personal for me."
Parton, who broke into song at one point, also gave Furner a compliment when she was looking for him in the audience. "Ain't he good looking, too?" Parton asked the crowd when the CEO stepped up to the lectern.