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SHSU Announces Winter Commencement Speakers

Dec. 2, 2014
SHSU Media Contact: Julia May

 

A state senator and two Sam Houston State University alumni who have earned distinction in their respective fields of sales and law will address approximately 1,725 degree candidates during the university’s four commencement ceremonies on Dec. 12-13, in the Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.

State Sen. Kirk Watson will speak to Friday’s graduates from the Colleges of Sciences and Humanities and Social Sciences at 9:30 a.m.

Kyle Lehne, vice president of sales and marketing at Sun Coast Resources, Inc., will address graduates of the College of Business Administration at 2:30 p.m.

Carlos Rainer, a partner with the law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP, Houston, will speak during Saturday’s two ceremonies—at 9:30 a.m. for the Colleges of Education and Fine Arts and Mass Communication and at 2:30 p.m. for the Colleges of Criminal Justice and Health Sciences.

The number includes 1,433 bachelor’s degree candidates, 278 master’s degree candidates and 14 doctoral degree candidates.

Kirk Watson

Watson, state senator for District 14, is an attorney with the law firm of Husch Blackwell, LLP, Austin, and a former mayor of Austin. He is also the former chair of both the Texas Advisory Board for Environmental Defense and the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.

In 2011 and 2013, Texas Monthly magazine recognized him as honorable mention in its coverage of the state’s best legislators. In 2009, he was on the magazine’s “10 Best” list and was named its legislative “Rookie of the Year” in 2007.

Watson is the chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus. He serves on the senate committees overseeing business and commerce, economic development, nominations, and transportation, and he is vice chair of the senate committee on higher education.

Lehne is vice president of sales and marketing at Sun Coast Resources, Inc., headquartered in Houston, where he has been leading the company’s sales force and marketing efforts for 18 years.

Kyle Lehne

A second generation Bearkat, Lehne is a 1994 graduate of SHSU. He has served on the SHSU Alumni Board of Directors since 2012 and is a Life Endowed Member of the Alumni Association.

Sun Coast—founded in 1985 by his wife, Kathy, who serves as the company’s CEO and president—is one of the leading wholesale petroleum marketers in the nation.

Since Lehne joined the company in 1996, he has provided award-winning sales leadership in highly competitive markets as well as coordination and direction for growing branded lubricants sales.

Sun Coast is now licensed in 40 states, and with 18 offices and bulk plant facilities in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, the company operates a modern, proprietary fleet of more than 800 units.

Since its establishment, the company has diversified to include a large number of petroleum products and a complementary arsenal of equipment to serve its thousands of commercial and industrial customers.

In 2004, Sun Coast was called on by the State of Florida to help with diesel supply during hurricane season. Since then, Sun Coast has become the industry leader in emergency fuel response services. During Superstorm Sandy, Lehne and his team deployed more than 175 trucks to New York City and 11 states impacted by the storm.

Carlos Rainer

Carlos R. Rainer, a partner with Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP, and the SHSU 2014 Outstanding Young Alumnus, has consistently been recognized as a leading attorney in matters of business litigation, corporate governance and compliance, internal investigations, and government enforcement actions and proceedings. He routinely handles disputes with amounts in controversy in the tens of millions of dollars and advises clients on matters posing significant legal and enterprise risks to their business.

He was a member of the Elliott T. Bowers Honors College at SHSU and graduated summa cum laude with a degree in history in 1996. He then attended the University of Texas School of Law and graduated in 2000.

Rainer has developed a reputation as trusted adviser to a diverse group of clients, including energy companies, financial and professional services firms, banks, transportation and distribution companies, technology firms, and industry associations and trade groups.

His investigation experience covers the globe, having assisted clients with business activities and legal matters in the United States and abroad including Europe, Canada, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and other foreign territories.

Rainer has consistently been recognized in peer publications as a leading practitioner. He was selected as one of "Houston's Top Lawyers" for business litigation in the H Texas Magazine, June 2010; a Rising Star in business litigation in "Texas Rising Stars," Litigation, Law & Politics (consecutively from 2004 - 2014); and as one of the "Lawyers on the Fast Track," H Texas Magazine in 2004.

More recently, Rainer was selected as a “Super Lawyer” in Texas, a level of professional distinction bestowed on less than 5 percent of Texas lawyers annually and was recognized in leading legal publications in the fall of 2014 for this notable professional distinction.

 

 

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