Dolly Parton will be honored with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2026 Icon Award at the Annual Celebration on September 17 at Nissan Stadium. The award is posthumous, following her passing on August 25 in Nashville at age 80, and it recognizes individuals whose lasting contributions have shaped Nashville and Middle Tennessee.
The honor adds another line to a resume that already reads like a legend’s. Parton was a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock&Roll Hall of Fame, with two Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s and 25 Hot Country Songs No. 1s to her name. Beyond the charts, there’s the Imagination Library that put millions of books in kids’hands and a lifetime of generosity that always circled back to Tennessee.
She’ll be recognized alongside fellow Icon Award honorees Ronald L. Corbin and Martha R. Ingram, while CMA leader Sarah Trahern receives the changemaker award. Chamber president and CEO Stephanie Coleman said the honorees embody leadership, service, and commitment to Middle Tennessee. If you ask us, nobody embodied that spirit quite like Dolly. What’s the first Dolly song you ever heard? Tell us in the comments.
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Ava Hart
Ava Hart is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.
