Things We Saw Today: Dolly Parton’s Dollywood Will Offer All Employees Free Tuition & Books
Employees at Dollywood, the Tennessee theme park co-owned by Dolly Parton, will soon be eligible for free tuition for a number of select education programs, as well as having the costs of books and other educational fees covered. As of later this month, this offer is open to all employees—full-time, part-time, and seasonal—and is available starting on an employee’s very first day on the job.
The announcement comes from Dollywood’s parent company, Herschend Enterprises, and extends to all of its subsidiaries, including a number of amusement parks, tourist attractions, and the Harlem Globetrotters.
While the move might not come straight from Best Human Dolly Parton herself, this is a woman who has used her wealth and influence to fund vaccines and free book programs, and it’s exactly the kind of announcement we’d expect to see her name attached to.
Here are some other things we saw today:
- Fox has purchased the rights to “Gumby” and plans to “reimagine” the character through an array of animated and live-action projects, as well as merchandise, including NFTs. Sorry, Gumby. (via IGN)
- In more reboot/revival news, Hulu has ordered 20 new episodes of Futurama, with a number of original cast members attached. However, that reportedly doesn’t yet include John DiMaggio, who voiced Bender, so what’s even the point? (via Variety)
- Legendary funk artist Betty Davis has died at age 77. (via Complex)
- Today’s Google Doodle is a nice tribute to baseball trailblazer Toni Stone. (via MLB)
- For Valentine’s Day, one local SPCA is taking donations to let you put your ex’s name in a cat’s litterbox to get pooped on! (va WHSV.com)
What did you all see out there today?
(image: John Lamparski/Getty Images)
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