There are some mornings when everything seems to run smoothly. And then there are the mornings when someone can't find their shoes, the cereal gets spilled, and everyone is rushing out the door before the day has even really started.

From Knoxville roots that span four generations to a once-in-a-lifetime moment at the 1999 Fiesta Bowl, J.R. Green’s Volunteer spirit became unforgettable in The Big Orange Tux. His family’s Tennessee tradition made that run onto the field more than a game-day memory—it was history in motion.

Before she was a household name, Dolly Parton got her first taste of the stage singing alongside a bluegrass duo called the Bailey Brothers — my uncles. Here's how my own family found itself woven into the earliest days of her story.