Mortimer B. Bates III of Quincy recently received the Jane Cowles Stewardship Award at Woods Services in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.
This award is the highest honor offered by Woods Services each year to one of its most loyal supporters.
This is the first time this award was bestowed on a former student.
It’s a long trip from Quincy, Florida to Langhorne, Pennsylvania, especially if you don’t like the cold weather in January, but friends and family of Mortimer Bates traveled from three states to attend the annual Woods Fete and Fundraiser to see Mortimer Bates receive this well-deserved honor.
Bates came to Woods in 1948 at age nine. After attending school at Woods for nearly 10 years, he returned home to Florida.
While at Woods, Bates developed an interest in photography, which he studied after completing high school in Florida. He went on to become a wedding photographer, retiring in 2003.
In a video interview aired on Saturday night at the Woods event, Bates remarked on the strong impact that Woods had on him, both in terms of developing his interest in photography and the lifelong relationships he made.
“As an adult, I realized how much Woods helped me.”
One of Bates’ closest friends from Woods was on hand for the ceremony.
Mort is the son of the late Mortimer B. Bates Jr. and Jesse Shaw Bates, both of Quincy. He is the brother of Richard S. Bates of Quincy and Leewood B. Woodell of Houston, Texas.
Special to The Herald
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