Williamson Women's Leadership Conference Honors Dolly Parton

The annual Williamson, Inc. Women’s Leadership Conference was held on Thursday, Aug. 27, at Embassy Suites by Hilton in Franklin. The event honored Dolly Parton during the lunch hour and keynote session, with attendees wearing pink, enjoying her music and celebrating her positive influence.

This year’s conference was centered on the theme “Beyond the Title,” encouraging women to look beyond their professional titles and consider the experiences, values and stories that shape who they are. The theme explored whether a title truly tells “the whole story” and highlighted the importance of living beyond labels.

The conference began at 8 a.m. and continued until 2:30 p.m., featuring several sessions designed to support and inspire women. Participants had opportunities to learn more about confidence, personality, financial independence and other areas related to personal and professional growth.

The keynote was originally scheduled to be delivered by internet personality Jenny Reimold. However, due to last-minute scheduling conflicts, Dale Smith Thomas stepped in to deliver the keynote. Her humorous and heartwarming speech paid tribute to Dolly Parton, who passed away on Tuesday, Aug. 25, while bringing an uplifting message of positivity to the audience.

Key Highlights:

• The conference honored Dolly Parton and celebrated her positive influence
• The “Beyond the Title” theme encouraged women to look beyond their professional roles
• Dale Smith Thomas urged women to choose kindness, positivity and support others

Dale, an international motivational speaker, bestselling author and performance coach, brought the spirit of Parton to the stage, and challenged the audience to think positively, to encourage other people, to ask “What would Dolly do?”

In addition to being a “philanthropist,” “singer,” “songwriter” and more, Dale said that Parton was a “hope dealer.”

“Hope is helping other people excel, and every single day that woman dealt hope, and every single one of us, beyond the titles that we have…we can all be hope dealers,” Dale said. “We can be kinder, we can share, we can encourage, and we can uplift.”

Dale shared her childhood stories in North Mississippi, where she was not known for her positivity, and how she learned to be positive, as well as being the first in her family to attend college.

Dale said he didn’t know a thing about success and making choices. “But what I have learned on the way, it's your decisions that make your destiny, not your conditions.”

“That one woman’s decision, just like Dolly’s decision for the Imagination Library, has put $110 million in education in the state of Mississippi,” Dale said. “Think about the lives of the children that will change because of Dolly’s donation.”

Just as Dolly decided on the Imagination Library, that decision has given the state of Mississippi $110 million in education, Dale said. Consider a change in the lives of the children who may benefit from Dolly's donation.

Dale encouraged audience members to dedicate the next year of their lives to “bringing the energy to the room,” creating the best year of their lives through a positive mindset and facing every challenge as an opportunity for growth.

“If we’re going to live like Dolly, we’ve got to lead the way and open the door for other women to follow us,” Thomas said.

“As you take the next step in your life, as you live beyond the title, ask yourself, ‘What would Dolly do?’” she said. “Dolly would choose kindness every step of the way…Here’s how we honor her: we honor her and the life she left by becoming more of who we’re intended to be, and by opening the door to help someone else do the same way.”

One last breakout session was held at the conference. Dale was available for guests to meet with after her talk, to take pictures and to buy her books.