HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH REMINDS US OF HOW CENTRAL ALABAMA IS GROWING AND CHANGING. WVTM13’S CARLA WADE INTRODUCES US TO A BRAZILIAN IMMIGRANT WHO PLAYED A HUGE ROLE IN THAT GROWTH BY MEETING THE PRACTICAL NEEDS OF A DIVERSE COMMUNITY, WE AS PROJECT COMMUNITY CHAMPION HIGHLIGHTS BARRIER BREAKING WOMEN. SINCE ARRIVING IN ALABAMA, MORE THAN TWO DECADES AGO, VIVIAN MOURA HAS TAKEN THE SKILLS SHE USED TO HELP OTHER BUSINESSES CONNECT WITH THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY TO GROW HER OWN BUSINESS, WHILE ALSO HELPING OTHER IMMIGRANT WOMEN BUILD SUCCESSFUL CAREERS. THERE AREN’T A LOT OF BUSINESSES IN CENTRAL ALABAMA WHERE YOU CAN GET SERVICES IN AT LEAST THREE LANGUAGES. I GREW UP IN A BILINGUAL HOME, SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE, AND SPOKEN BY EMPLOYEES WHO COME FROM JUST AS MANY LATIN AMERICA COUNTRIES. SO WE DO HAVE TEAM MEMBERS FROM VENEZUELA, FROM MEXICO, FROM NICARAGUA, AND I’M FROM BRAZIL. BUT IT’S WHAT MAKES VIVIAN MOURA’S PIONEERING STATE FARM INSURANCE AGENCY A LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM OTHER AGENCIES. WE TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR TEAM REFLECTS THE COMMUNITY THAT WE SERVE ON THIS DAY, HER STAFF IS GETTING IN SOME TRAINING WITH THE IRONDALE FIRE DEPARTMENT. THEY’LL SHARE WHAT THEY LEARN DURING SEVERAL COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS IN LARGELY HISPANIC AREAS. TAKE YOUR WINE AND YOU WOULD AIM IT AT THE BASE OF THE FIRE. MOURA IS EXCITED TO SHOW OFF THESE NEW FIRE SAFETY SIGNS NOW PRINTED IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH. IT WAS COLD AND PEOPLE WERE COLD. THE WEATHER WAS COLD, SO I COULDN’T WAIT TO GO BACK TO SAO PAULO, BRAZIL AFTER THAT YEAR. BUT I KNOW AND I REALIZE THAT I WENT BACK HOME WITH THAT BLESSING, WITH THAT GIFT OF ANOTHER LANGUAGE, AND THAT WAS ENGLISH. SHE STUDIED PUBLIC RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS IN SPAIN TO HELP PUT HERSELF THROUGH COLLEGE. SHE BEGAN TEACHING ESL CLASSES FOR COMPANIES THERE WHO OFTEN DID BUSINESS HERE IN THE STATES. SHE MADE A LOT OF AMERICAN FRIENDS, BUT IT WAS THE SOUTHERNERS WHO OPENED HER UP TO THE IDEA SHE COULD FIND WARMTH IN AMERICA, IN THE WEATHER AND THE PEOPLE. SO I MET A LOT OF FRIENDS AND ENDED UP COMING TO THE SOUTH AND JUST FELL IN LOVE WITH WITH ALABAMA, HEARD ABOUT UAB AND ALL THE GREAT RESOURCES AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY THAT IS HERE AND ENDED UP STAYING. SO IT FEELS LIKE HOME. THAT HOMEY FEELING EXTENDS TO HER STAFF. CAN CONSISTING MOSTLY OF WOMEN IMMIGRANTS CHASING THE AMERICAN DREAM FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES. MOST OF OUR WOMEN ARE ACTUALLY FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS. AN AND WE PUT THAT WHEN WE INTERVIEW THEM AND SAID, OKAY, IF THAT’S AN OBJECTIVE FOR YOU, FOR YOU, THIS IS GOING TO BE OUR TEAM OBJECTIVE. WE’RE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE YOUR HOME AND THAT’S GOING TO BE PART OF YOUR CAREER ACHIEVEMENT. AND USUALLY IN THE FIRST FEW YEARS, THEY ARE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THAT GOAL. MOURA HAS ACCOMPLISHED MANY OF HER GOALS SINCE SHE STARTED OUT WORKING FOR A HISPANIC MARKETING FIRM IN THE CITY OF BIRMINGHAM AND THEN MOVING INTO THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY. WE WERE ACTUALLY THE FIRST AGENCY TO OPEN A SECOND LOCATION IN THE STATE OF ALABAMA AND FOR BEING WOMEN AND A MINORITY, WE DON’T USUALLY GET TO BE THE FIRST MANY TIMES IN MANY THINGS. SO WE FELT VERY HONORED, VERY HUMBLED, VERY BLESSED. AND WE TOOK THAT VERY SERIOUSLY. AND WHILE IT’S NOT HER PRIMARY ROLE AS AN AGENT GETTING EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS INFORMATION TO THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY IS SOMETHING SHE TAKES SERIOUSLY. THIS TRAINING WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE. THE AGENCY ALSO PARTNERS WITH THE EMA TO GET OUT BILINGUAL SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION TO LATINO RESIDENTS. MANY OF WHO COME FROM COUNTRIES THAT RARELY EXPERIENCE TORNADOES. I COULDN’T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT MY TEAM, AND I’M JUST VERY PROUD OF THEM AND EVERYTHING THAT WE’RE ABLE TO ACHIEVE IN THE COMMUNITY WORKING TOGETHER. SO AND WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN THEY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN SOMEBODY ELSE’S LIFE, THEY ARE ACTUALLY HARVESTING THAT IN THEIR OWN LIVES. A LOCAL INSURANCE AGENCY MAKING A LASTING IMPACT AND ENSURING HER COMMUNITY IS PREPARED FOR ANYTHING. KING CARLA WADE WVTM, 13. I LOVE THAT SHE’S MAKING MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD OF BUSINESS PEOPLE WORKING FOR HER AND THE COMMUNITY, TOO.