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President's Letter |
Veteran and Hall-of-Famer Bates Continues to Serve
The ‘volcano’ at The Mirage in Las Vegas sits on three water-covered acres. The resort calls the volcano its “signature attraction.” Fueled by natural gas, the volcano is 54-feet high, shoots smoke and fire 100 feet into the air and wouldn’t be erupting at the top of the hour every night from seven to midnight if it weren’t for Jack Bates. When The Mirage first fired up its attraction, it emitted a strong sour smell. Although natural gas is odorless, t-butyl mercaptan is added so that leaks can be detected. Enter Bates, founder of Bates & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm for the natural gas and oil industry. “No one had ever taken smell out of natural gas before we’d always put it in,” says Bates. “I designed a molecular sieve to take the butyl mercaptan out of it, but then we had to put a different smell in. They picked pina colada. So when you’re out there and smell pina colada, you’d better run!” The Mirage volcano was perhaps the most unusual of many professional accomplishments for Bates, who was elected to the Energy Association Hall of Fame, becoming just its eighth member when he was inducted in a ceremony at Iowa State University in 2002. The honor was based upon his patents, teaching (at ISU, Purdue, West Virginia) and contributions to the gas and electric industry. He credits the start of his career to his time at Ferris. As with some recent Operation Desert Storm veterans, Bates was still in the service actually, on the edge of a rice paddy in Vietnam when he received his letter of acceptance to Ferris. The former Ferris State University Board of Trustees member and Distinguished Alumnus took full advantage of the University through the GI Bill as did many others. “It was a great bunch of guys,” says Bates. “I got home from the service in December of 1968 and started school the next month. I graduated in three years. A lot of the vets went to school year-round, trying to get caught up again.” Gov. John Engler appointed Bates to the Board in January 1997. “The governor said it wouldn’t take much of my time. I guess that’s the only fib he ever told me,” Bates says, laughing. “If a person was just going to just go through the motions, it probably wouldn’t take much time.” Over the years, both while on the Board and after, he actively promoted the University. He also helped raise money for students through annual competitions. “Now it’s the Cookie Cook-off, but in the past we also made stew and then chili,” says Bates, who has captured the title in all of these culinary areas. Teams’ entry fees and bidding for the final products have raised several thousand dollars for the Office of Student Leadership & Activities to support the activities of the Torchbearer Society. Today the retired Bates splits his time between Leroy, Mich., and Lakeland, Fla. For information on supporting this year’s Cookie Cook-Off, slated for October, contact Richelle Boerma at boermar@ferris.edu. |
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