Bates Business Services started out in Key West, Florida, in the 1980s, as Shamrock Typing Service. Mary Kaye Bates previously had many years experience as a court transcriptionist in Miami, typing transcripts from tape dictation. She was paid by the page, so she diligently built her typing speed to 100 words per minute. Her skills sent her with a special team of reporters and typists to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to do overnight copy of a 3-month government trial. She had always dreamed of having her own secretarial service, so when she moved to Key West, she was able to put her dream into reality. Among her clients were Tennessee Williams and many other contemporary authors including Nancy Friday, Alison Lurie, and John Hersey. Her very first client was the Key West Harbor Master and Bar Pilot.

After a brief flirtation with the Miami market, Ms. Bates moved to Palm Beach County and started Bates Business Services with the encouragement of her friends. She has a home-based office in downtown West Palm Beach near the Norton Museum of Art and is five minutes away from the Island of Palm Beach. Most clients bring their work to her office, or sometimes they will e-mail or snail mail their documents from out of town.

Ms. Bates’s notary public services also started in Key West, and she performed many wedding ceremonies in varied venues. She also continued to perform weddings in Miami, once in a friar’s costume in a Medieval festival. In Palm Beach County, in addition to notarizing signatures on legal documents including wills, powers of attorney, and real estate closings, she has continued to perform marriage ceremonies from Martin County through the Florida Keys. She will travel anywhere in the state of Florida for your notarial needs. She is also registered with the Hungarian Embassy in Washington, DC, as a designated notary, especially for Hungarians wishing to renew their passports.

She is a member of the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce.