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Educating others comes naturally to soon-to-be-elevated ASLA Fellow Mary Bates. With an elementary school teacher as a mother, Bates has been involved with the teaching process from an early age and has worked to educate others about the importance of the landscape industry throughout her entire career. As such, her recognition from the ASLA for service is no surprise—to everyone except her, at least. “It’s a bit surreal for me,” Bates says. “There are so many Fellows whom I look up to and whose work I follow, so it seems crazy to me that I’m included in this group of talented people.”