SEVIERVILLE, TN. (Top40 Charts) When the pandemic seemed to stop the world from turning,
Dolly Parton assembled her talented team members to brainstorm ideas about how they could make a positive impact during a difficult time. Dolly had been working on several projects that would release later in the year, but she wanted to act fast and do something extra special for children who suddenly found themselves staying at home all the time. She simply wanted to give them something to look forward to each week.
Jacob Timmons of S.D. Professionals, LLC has been working with Dolly for over twenty years. His agency not only built and maintains DollyParton.com, but has also played an integral role in Dolly's ongoing work with the Imagination Library. The digital media firm specializes in creating extraordinary online experiences, and that is exactly what they did in bringing the "Goodnight with Dolly" web series to life. When the release of The Library That Dolly Built, a feature length documentary film about Dolly's cherished Imagination Library, was moved from April 2020 to December 2020 due to the pandemic, S.D. Professionals acted quickly and pivoted and volunteered their time and resources to provide everyone who had been looking forward to the film in theaters across the nation 10 weeks of custom, original content instead.
"Goodnight with Dolly" launched on April 2, 2020 and ran for 10 consecutive weeks. Each week, Dolly chose a book from her beloved Imagination Library and read a bedtime story to children all over the world. S.D. Professionals created the unique online space on both the Imagination Library Facebook page and YouTube channel, making it accessible to any child with internet access. The series was a hit across the globe, garnering over 13 million views.
The prestigious Telly Awards honor excellence in video and television across all screens, including web series. The Telly Awards categories "Goodnight with Dolly" was recognized in are:
Gold Telly - Online Series-Webseries: Non-Scripted
Silver Telly - Online Series-Webseries: Music
Silver Telly - Online Series-Series: Education & Discovery
Silver Telly - Social Video Series-Series: Media & Entertainment
Jacob and his team at S.D. Professionals consider it an honor to partner with Dolly on a variety of projects all throughout the year. They are especially grateful to be recognized by The Telly Awards for their involvement in the "Goodnight with Dolly" project.
Jacob Timmons shares, "Dolly always comes through as a shining light in some of our darkest times, and we're honored to be a part of that journey. It's always nice to be recognized by our peers when working on a project so close to our hearts. It was also an epic adventure working with everyone at the foundation and Abramorama to help get this series in front of as many families around the globe as possible."
Dolly Parton shared her excitement about the awards, "We really wanted to do something special for kids and families while we were all hunkered down at home because of the pandemic and I thought, why not read bedtime stories from my Imagination Library! I'm thrilled for everyone who had a hand in making "Goodnight with Dolly" a success, and I'm over the moon about receiving the Telly Awards!"
All episodes of "Goodnight with Dolly'' are available for viewing on Dolly Parton's Imagination Library website. S.D. Professionals went on to support "The Library That Dolly Built" with a global Facebook Live release that amassed over a million views worldwide. The film is now available for streaming on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play and Cable on Demand.
