Jeff Porter had a memorable trip to Kansas City on Aug. 27.

The Montgomery City resident went to the Statewide Imagination Library Celebration event at the Folly Theater to see famous actress/singer Dolly Parton talk about the success of her Imagination Library reading program, which has grown since its inception in 1995 in Sevier County, Tenn.

After the event, Porter and wife Julie got to take a picture with Parton, who is well known for her songs, “9 to 5” and “Islands In The Stream.”

“She’s just a little lady with a big heart,” Porter said. “She’s only five feet tall. She’s a little bitty thing. She has a powerful voice. She’s bipartisan. I like that part. She keeps politics out of it. It’s all about the kids. I enjoyed it. It was well worth it.”

Besides Porter, Imagination Library of Missouri partners, early childhood education stakeholders and other special guests – such as Missouri Governor Mike Parson and First Lady Teresa Parson – were invited to attend the event in-person. It was hosted by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

“As the former Senator who carried the Imagination Library of Missouri legislation, to now being in the role of Commissioner, this is a full-circle moment,” Commissioner of Education Karla Eslinger said in a statement. “Since the program launched in November 2023, we have enrolled more than 137,000 Missouri children in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. We hope Dolly’s visit to Missouri will help us promote the program even further, reaching the families of the remaining 262,000 Missouri children who are eligible.”

Missouri is the 14th state in the country to commit to a statewide Imagination Library program, but no other state has been fully funded, with all children under age five eligible, on the day the statewide program launched.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dolly to the Show-Me State and join her to celebrate the Imagination Library program,” Mike and Teresa Parson said in a statement. “Ensuring Missouri’s children have a quality education is near and dear to us, and we know the earlier we can get children excited about reading and learning the better equipped they are to find success and achieve their American Dream down the road. We appreciate Dolly, her team and DESE for helping bring these quality educational resources to Missouri children and continue to encourage all eligible Missouri parents to utilize this program.”

All Missouri children under five years old are eligible to register for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by providing age-appropriate books each month to children free of charge.

Porter was an advocate for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library of Missouri. In 2022, while working as a State Representative, Porter filed a bill that focused on early childhood literacy and created the Imagination Library of Missouri program.

Numerous people helped Porter in the process of writing and presenting the initial bill for the funding of the Imagination Library in Missouri, including his wife Julie, Eslinger, Lincoln County R-III School District director of student services Kelly Groeber, State Representative Paula Brown, Imagination Library area representative Pam Hunsaker and Montgomery City resident Anna Powell.

“I am happy for our Missouri kids,” Porter said.

The Porters sat in the third row of the Folly Theater, which is located in downtown Kansas City. They saw Parton speak as well as sing two songs.

“I went to the Cardinals baseball game the night before,” Jeff Porter said. “I got home and I got up and left at 4 or 5 o’clock (in the morning) to get up there at a decent time. We were pretty excited.”