2025 NDFA Faith, Family, and Freedom Dessert Gala

Join North Dakota Family Alliance on May 13th for a wonderful and exciting evening at its 2025 Faith, Family, and Freedom Dessert Gala. Our Keynote speaker for the event will be Dr. Ben Carson.

About Dr. Carson

Former US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development / Conservative Political Thought Leader / Renowned Pediatric Neurosurgeon
Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., M.D., is the Founder and Chairman of the American Cornerstone Institute, a new think tank / do tank whose mission is to promote the 4 founding principles which are cornerstones of our country: faith, liberty, community, and life as well as pursue common sense solutions that challenge conventional groupthink. He most recently served as the 17th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
For nearly 30 years, Secretary Carson served as Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, a position he assumed when he was just 33 years old, becoming the youngest major division director in the hospital's history. In 1987, he successfully performed the first separation of craniopagus twins conjoined at the back of the head. He also performed the first fully successful separation of type-2 vertical craniopagus twins in 1997 in South Africa. Dr. Carson received dozens of honors and awards in recognition of his achievements including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. He is also a recipient of the Spingarn Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and has been awarded over 70 honorary doctorate degrees.
Dr. Carson authored eleven books, five of which he co-wrote with his wife Candy. The U.S. News Media Group and Harvard's Center for Public Leadership named him among "America's Best Leaders" in 2008. Dr. Carson and his wife co-founded the Carson Scholars Fund, which recognizes young people of all backgrounds for exceptional academic and humanitarian accomplishments. The Fund is currently operating in 50 states and the District of Columbia, and this year is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the first awards ceremony. In honor of that, the organization has now awarded a total of more than 11,000 scholars, as well as more than $8 million in scholarships. Before the end of this year, the Carson Scholars will have installed more than 270 Ben Carson Reading Rooms around the country. Carson was born in Detroit to a mother with a 3rd-grade education and a father who was a bigamist. After finding out her husband had another family, she left him and raised Carson and his older brother on her own working multiple jobs to support their family. Secretary Carson was raised to love reading and education. He graduated from Yale University and earned his M.D. from the University of Michigan Medical School. He and his wife are the proud parents of three adult sons and eight grandchildren.

About The Craguns

The Craguns are a dynamic, family group, comprised of husband and wife, Jordan and Elena Cragun, Ray Cragun (Jordan’s Father), and Savannah Cragun (Jordan’s Sister).
Ray and Victoria Cragun were married on May 26, 1984, and shortly after saying I do, the couple entered full-time ministry together when they accepted the call to pastor. They served together in this capacity for 25 years.
Music was always a huge part of ministry for the family, as they would sing together during church services, revivals, and camp meetings. In 2013 God officially brought the Cragun family together again from different ministry positions, to embark on the musical journey of a lifetime! He started aligning all the pieces for the family to reunite in a powerful way, to do something they had always dreamed of doing... Touring together, in full-time Gospel Music.
Since then, The Craguns have quickly endeared themselves to national & international audiences, touring from coast to coast and different parts of the world.
Since officially releasing their first album in 2013, The Craguns have been honored to perform in some of the largest venues, radio stations, and television shows in gospel music... The National Quartet Convention (Main Stage), The Blue Gate Theater, Silver Dollar City, and Daystar Television, just to name a few.

Host or Publisher North Dakota Family Alliance