Dolly Parton, in today's Knoxville News Sentinel:

Back in the 1940s, a doctor named Robert F. Thomas rode his horse into our holler, and this loud-mouthed little girl was born. My daddy paid him with a sack of cornmeal. I guess that was all I was worth.

[..]

The Robert F. Thomas Foundation and Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center are working toward building a new, modern hospital in Sevierville that will serve all of the people here in East Tennessee, not just in Sevier County.

I have always been a firm believer in working hard for what is right and for making your own breaks if you want things to change. With that in mind, my Dollywood and Dixie Stampede companies are donating $500,000 to this cause. I am also performing a benefit concert on May 20 at the Smokies Stadium to help raise money for this $100 million hospital project.

I want to challenge all of you to help in any way you can to support this important project for all of East Tennessee.

They couldn't have gotten a better spokesperson for the project.