Mary Bates

Mary Bates has made the Kaiserslautern Military Community a better place to live through her selfless service and willingness to provide a helping hand. Despite her spouse’s frequent TDY’s and raising an active family, she still makes the time to give back to the community.

She is the vice president to a local association. She dedicates over 200 hours per month volunteering and is still able to provide her family a hot meal every night. She has exhausted over 40 hours repainting, reorganizing and cleaning Kaiserslautern’s headquarters building. The building is now transformed in a “community” building for organization and military groups to utilize at no charge. Bates is also responsible for hiring and managing six paid employees, as a key member of an executive panel. She also mediates between employees, volunteers, and board members; she meets these issues with untiring energy and unfailing wisdom.

Bates also restructured the organization’s business plan to incorporate paid, part-time staffing improving customer service and continuity in all the stores. She rewrote the Stand Operating Procedures and Consignment Policies that opened the doors to allow I.D. cardholders from remote posts the ability to consign at their boutique. Her fresh and innovative ideas for displaying merchandise have increased the store’s revenue by 20% over last year.

Bates single-handedly hosted a welcome barbecue for the Kaiserslautern American Middle School incoming students and parents. She is a member of the Parent Teacher Student Association fundraising team generating $200 a month in sales. Bates organized a parent schedule to scan books and learning aids into an electronic system that reads back to learning impaired students.

Bates also volunteers with the Boy Scouts of America. They know her as an avid volunteer and fundraising chair. Whether its bake sales, car washes, providing transportation or issuing their much-deserved badges, she does it all.

Bates’ character is one that always displays a high spirit of cooperation, willingness, and attentiveness to helping people. In addition to her energetic dedication to the association, she steps in for any soldier, airman or family member who is TDY, out of town, or working late. She is frequently seen walking many dogs throughout the neighborhood—although, she does not own any of them. Her caring disposition does not stop with the canines, she is also quick to step in for parents who might need help due to deployments or work schedules.

Bates is a great source of information and a master at introducing newcomers to the KMC. She is frequently credited for matching families with houses, households with house cleaners, shoppers with markets, and couples with restaurants. Bates also delivers flowers or preparing meals for those who have been hospitalized or ill are common actions for this person.

The fruits of her numerous volunteer hours have helped soldiers, airmen and family members. She has proved to be outstanding among her contemporaries with her dedication to this community. Thorough, reliable, trustworthy and quietly capable, she accomplishes more good deeds than most people even have time to think about. Kindness is second nature for this individual.