- Honored for her leadership and the impact in the community by the Texas Alliance of Black School Educators
- She was honored to receive the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of her service to the community.
- She received the Lion Award from the Houston Caribbean Professional Association in recognition of her dedicated leadership, courage, and resilience.
- Distinguished Alumni Award from Fisk University for her commitment to fairness and justice
- Black Excellence Award from East Harris County Empowerment Council
- Trailblazer Award from the Black Professional Cowboys/Cowgirls Association—for helping improve the plight of the African American community
- Community Pioneer Award—North East Partners in Power Recognition
- Service Appreciation Award—Encouragers Church—In grateful recognition of outstanding service and dedication
- Phenomenal Woman Global Award—American Caribbean Chamber of Commerce
Prior to being elected, she founded LB Marketing Solutions, a successful marketing and advertising service agency. Judge Bates started her career at Verizon, formerly GTE, in Baytown, Texas. She then worked with Anchor Realty as a Realtor while attending the University of Houston-Clear Lake. She was hired as an account executive with the Houston Chronicle and quickly advanced through the ranks, being awarded Sales Manager of the Year three consecutive times. She was also an advertising director for Houston Community Newspapers and a certified advertising consultant in her field. Judge Bates has been recognized as a business and professional leader by the Princeton Premier Registry and is a five-time Publisher’s Club winner in the media industry.
She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Houston-Clear Lake, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Christian University of Southern Indiana. Judge Bates has also earned over 300 Continuing Legal Education credit hours from Texas State University and the Texas Justice Court Training Center. She is happily married to her husband, Robert, with two daughters and 3 grandbabies.
