HUDL honors Chafer with Freeman Award, celebrates the year in debate

On April 23, 2025, friends and supporters of the Houston Urban Debate League gathered at Downtown's historic Coronado Club to celebrate the conclusion of another successful season, share excitement for upcoming summer camp activities, and honor one of the organization's founding members.

Alara Eyuboglu, a Heights High School senior and reigning City Champion in Policy Debate, thanked HUDL supporters for the post-season opportunities that sent her to NAUDL Nationals for an extraordinary three years in a row, and said she never tires of explaining how debate gave her skills that helped her throughout the curriculum.

Oyindamola Akintola, an Alief Early College High School senior and reigning City Champion in World Schools Debate, credited HUDL for kick-starting a successful high school career that will send her to Harvard University this fall. And Isabelle Martinez, a Yes Prep Southeast senior, reflected warmly on the camaraderie among her fellow students and debate coach, telling the audience that she didn't find her voice until she became involved in high school debate.

HUDL also honored Charles Chafer with the Thomas Freeman Award for his outstanding contribution to the advancement of Houston debate. Chafer, one of the organization's founding members and a former chairman of HUDL's Board of Directors, was the driving force behind HUDL's introduction of the World Schools Debate format. As the first urban debate league in the nation to adopt the World Schools format, HUDL introduced Houston students to an exciting and accessible format and helped pave the way to its rising popularity across the country. Chafer spoke with the crowd about the role debate played in his own life, saying debate gave him the confidence to master new subjects and led him from his suburban Oklahoma upbringing to the chairmanship of Space Services Holdings, Inc., one of the pioneers of the private spaceflight industry.

The HUDL Board of Directors thanks its partners at the Houston Independent School District and the Harris County Department of Education for their commitment to this important educational opportunity, and extends particular gratitude to the volunteers and donors that help make that opportunity available to all of Houston's students.