Texas State honors 5 Distinguished Alumni, 3 Rising Stars for 2018

<div class="newscaption">Texas State President Denise M. Trauth presents this year's Distinguished Alumni with their Distinguished Alumnus blazers. Left to right: President Trauth, Mark E. Adams, the Honorable Douglas R. Miller, Dr. Light Townsend Cummins, Karen Carroll, and Tracy L. Porter</div>

The Texas State University Alumni Association has bestowed its highest honor upon five notable Texas State alumni for 2018. Doug Miller, Mark Adams, Light Townsend Cummins, Tracy Porter and Karen Carroll are this year’s recipients of the association’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

Additionally, the Alumni Association named three Young Alumni Rising Star Award recipients—Maj. Brenda Bustillos, Lesli Ginn and Polo Sandoval. 

First given to President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1959, the Distinguished Alumni Award is the Alumni Association’s most prestigious honor. Award recipients are Texas State graduates who have distinguished themselves in their chosen occupations and whose leadership serves as an example for the Texas State community. 

This year’s honorees represent a range of degree fields, professions and accomplishments.

Doug Miller, class of 1976, is the former State Representative for District 73, representing voters in Comal, Gillespie, and Kendall Counties from 2008 to 2016. He previously served as the mayor of New Braunfels and chairman of the Edwards Aquifer Authority.

Businessman Mark Adams, class of 1985, has been recognized by the Governor of Texas and the Texas House of Representatives as Outstanding Texas Entrepreneur and by Ernst & Young as Entrepreneur of the Year.

Light Townsend Cummins, class of 1968, was the official State Historian of Texas from 2009-2012 and a professor of history at Austin College in Sherman for more than 34 years. He was a Fulbright Scholar, former president of the Southwestern Historical Association of the Southwest Social Science Association, and a member of the Texas Institute of Letters and the Philosophy Society of Texas.

A proved senior operative executive with over 35 years of experience in manufacturing as well as venture capital enterprises, Tracy Porter, class of 1979, has been instrumental in implementing new technologies and manufacturing processes at Commercial Metals Company where he is executive vice president and chief operative officer.

The vice president and general auditor for 3M Company, Karen Carroll has been with the corporation for 29 years. She heads the assurance audit function, as well as the company's enterprise risk management initiative.

The Young Alumni Rising Star Award was created in 2015 to honor Texas State alumni who are under the age of 40. Recipients of this award demonstrate a level of excellence which positively represents the university, and serve to inspire current students and other recent graduates to excel in their work and recognize the important impact of their experience as a student at Texas State.

Maj. Brenda Bustillos, class of 2003, serves as chief of the education and research branch in the Department of Nutritional Medicine at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. She holds a Doctor of Public Health degree and  is also assistant professor for the U.S. Military-Baylor Graduate Program in Nutrition, San Antonio.

Lesli Ginn, class of 2000, was appointed chief administrative law judge for the State Office of Administrative Hearings in 2016 by Gov. Greg Abbott. She previously served in the Texas Attorney General’s office where she represented state agencies in state and federal district court, state and federal courts of appeals, and before the Texas Supreme Court.

Polo Sandoval, class of 2007, is a New York-based television journalist who covers a wide range of breaking news stories across the country for CNN and its sister networks CNNI, HLN and CNN Español. Sandoval's work has been recognized by the Texas Associate Press Broadcasters and the Lone Star Emmy chapter.

For more information, please visit the Texas State Alumni Association’s Web site at alumni.txstate.edu.