Thank you, Houston!

Texas, you asked, and we delivered! On November 8, 2024, just days before Veterans Day, we hosted the first annual Faces of Freedom: Houston Sporting Clays Tournament, proudly co-presented by ConocoPhillips and Core Lab. This year’s event raised a whopping $228,666, and it’s all thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and event participants. Your support made the tournament a resounding success, and we couldn’t be more grateful! 

Since its inception in Denver, Colorado in 2013, the Faces of Freedom Sporting Clays Tournament has expanded to include locations in Midland and Houston, Texas. Thanks to these caring and compassionate communities, nearly $5 million has been raised to date for FSD through Faces of Freedom tournaments, allowing us to partner more highly-skilled assistance dogs with veterans and first responders with PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, and combat-related injuries, at no cost to them.

In the days leading up to this year’s Houston tournament, FSD Service Dogs in training Birk and Orion, along with a few FSD staff members, visited the ConocoPhillips headquarters in Houston. They met with ConocoPhillips team members, shared FSD’s mission, and prepped for the big day.

Tournament day was filled with friendly competition, delicious food, great company, and the spirit of giving to veterans and first responders in need. After the shoot, participants heard the inspiring stories of two American heroes and how the gift of an FSD Service Dog was an everyday game changer in their lives.

U.S. Army veteran Eddie shared about the life-changing impact of his FSD Service Dog, Alfredo. He expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the FSD volunteers, staff, and donors who played a pivotal role in being partnered with Alfredo, emphasizing that he wouldn’t be where he is today without his furry battle buddy and the generous community of FSD supporters. 

U.S. Army veteran Jayni also moved the crowd with her story. Recently matched with FSD Service Dog Venice, Jayni reflected on her journey to discovering FSD through a previous Faces of Freedom: Midland tournament. Always able to count on Venice, now Jayni is embracing her newfound freedom. Team Jayni and Venice proudly represent the first matched team in the Permian Basin. This October, we were excited to match our second team from the same area, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Jason and his FSD Service Dog Zarek. Jason was also connected with  FSD through the Faces of Freedom: Midland tournament. 

The powerful stories of Eddie, Jayni and countless other veterans reflect the profound impact of Faces of Freedom tournaments. Their experiences highlight how your support—whether as sponsors, participants, volunteers, or donors—enable FSD to partner more life changing assistance dogs with the brave men and women who have selflessly served and sacrificed for our country.

From all the pups and people at FSD, THANK YOU! Your dedication and support of our mission and Faces of Freedom Sporting Clays tournaments make more transformative partnerships with assistance dogs possible. We are incredibly grateful to join the Houston community and to all those who went above and beyond to support FSD. Here’s to an even more successful tournament next year on Friday, November 7, 2025.

 See more photos from the 2024 event on our Facebook page.

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Special thanks to the following sponsors for their support: 

 Presenting Sponsors: ConocoPhillips and Core Lab

Platinum Sponsors: Baytex Energy, FESCO, and Focus Fuel

Veteran Sponsors: Jon and Carol Hughes and NexTier Completion Solutions

Gold Sponsors: Select Chemistry, Force Pressure Control, Oceaneering International, and Noel Wickwar

Beverage Sponsors: Halliburton

Cart Sponsor: Quantum

Station Sponsors: Stryker Directional, Liberty Energy, FloTek Industries, TXAM Pumps, EnerCorp, Citadel Casing Solutions, ProFrac Solutions, Noble Corporation, Patriot Drilling Services, Dynamic Drilling Fluids, and IVTS

Scorecard Sponsor: Tally Energy

Gunboard Sponsors: KLX Energy, The Pace Family, and ChampionX-Harbsion Fischer

Photography Sponsor: Brothers Pool and Construction

Giveaway Sponsor: Spinnaker Cementing

Participating Sponsors: Solaris, Pruitt Production Services, Rhett Boren, and Tomax

A special thank you to: Butcher’s and Tubular Solutions, The Guitar Guys, Liberty Energy, and Natalie and Sam Sirgo. 

Interested in being a part of our future Faces of Freedom events in Midland, Houston, or Denver? Contact Allison Vote at [email protected] for more information.