This year, the Freedom Sings USA's Trailblazer Luncheon theme is “Honoring Warrior Moms,” and will feature guest speaker Major Katie Lunning (recipient, Distinguished Flying Cross - for acts of heroism during the fall of Kabul) along with a line-up of performers including Grammy-Award winning Country and Christian music star, Linda Davis; Grammy-nominated Nashville hitmaker, Steve Dean; award-winning singer/songwriting Minnie Murphy and more.
The luncheon will be held at the Walden Club on Saturday, May 11, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Along with lunch and beverages, there will be pop-up shops, raffles, auctions and live music with songs inspired by female veterans from across the country.
Funds raised by this event will support ongoing music-arts therapy programs for female veterans. To learn more about reservations or sponsorship opportunities, visit www.freedomsingsusa.org/events/trailblazers.
Linda Davis is a Grammy Award-winning country music star with hits on Country and Christian charts - best known for her songs "Does He Love You" (w/ Reba McEntire) and "Some Things Are Meant To Be."
Before launching her solo career, she charted three country singles as part of the duo Skip & Linda. In her solo journey, Davis has produced five studio albums with major record labels and released over 15 singles.
Her most successful chart performance is her 1993 duet with Reba McEntire, "Does He Love You," which topped the Billboard country charts and earned them both the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Collaboration.
Her highest solo chart position came with the song "Some Things Are Meant to Be," which reached No. 13 in 1996. Davis is married to country singer Lang Scott, and her daughter is Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum.
Davis secured the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Album and Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song as part of the Scott Family's album "Love Remains." These achievements bring her total Grammy wins to three. Additionally, she won the Billboard Music Award for Top Christian Song ("Thy Will") with Hillary Scott & The Scott Family in May 2017.
Kabul fell to the Taliban on Aug. 15, 2021. Major Lunning’s team arrived at the capital’s Hamid Karzai International Airport three days later.
Her calm and skill under pressure that ensured that dozens of wounded military and civilians survived the suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Her story has drawn high honors from her peers and praise from the press. Major Lunning currently serves as the chief critical care nurse at the Minnesota Air National Guard’s 133rd Medical Group.
She says experiences with cultural differences and a wartime environment have deepened her passion for service.
“I want people to see what nursing can do and what it is a part of. Nurses are the eyes and ears, and they're the ones that affect patients the most,” she says.