gates was born in wichita, kansas, the son of isabel v. (née goss) and melville a. "mel" gates. gates attained the rank of eagle scout in the boy scouts of america (bsa) and received the distinguished eagle scout award and silver buffalo award from the bsa as an adult. he graduated from wichita high school east in 1961. gates is also a vigil honor member within the order of the arrow, bsa's national honor society. he was selected as the 2017 bsa national alumnus of the year.