BACK TO YOU GUYS IN THE STUDIO. ENJOY THE DAY. JULIAN. THANKS SO MUCH. IT’S BEEN ANOTHER HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH FULL OF CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND EDUCATION. AS WE ROUND OUT THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS, WE’D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO ONE MORE CENTRAL ALABAMA TRAILBLAZER. ISABEL RUBIO, THE FOUNDER AND FORMER CEO OF THE HISPANIC INTEREST COALITION OF ALABAMA, ALSO KNOWN AS NICKA. THE ACRONYM NOW STANDS FOR THE HISPANIC AND IMMIGRATION CENTER OF ALABAMA. A SECOND GENERATION MEXICAN AMERICAN, RUBIO MOVED TO BIRMINGHAM IN THE 1990S. SHE SPOKE TO WVTM 13 ABOUT SEEING THE NEED TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE STATE’S HISPANIC RESIDENTS. BY EVENTUALLY LAUNCHING THE ORGANIZATION IN 1999 SAW OUR COMMUNITY CHANGING. MANY MORE LATINOS WERE SHOWING UP IN IN RESTAURANTS, IN LANDSCAPE CREWS AND CONSTRUCTION SITES, AND AT WALMART, YOU KNOW, ARE PLACES THAT YOU JUST GO. AND MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO TAKE CARE OF THE COMMUNITY THAT IS SPEAKS A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE. IS A STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND MORE THAN 20 YEARS AFTER ITS START, HEATHCOCK CONTINUES TO OFFER MANY PROGRAMS FOCUSED ON IMMIGRATION, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, EDUCATION AND FAMILIES. RUBIO STEPPED DOWN FROM HER ROLE AT THE NONPROFIT IN 2022. RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE MANY MORE HISPANIC HERITAGE MOMENTS LIKE THIS ONE ON OUR WEBSITE, WVTM 13 DOT COM. THAT’S WHERE YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT PIONEERS LIKE