Morristown and the Lakeway Area are growing and over recent decades as diverse international industries and migrants have moved into the area, a vibrant culture has developed that has benefited the region several local leaders said as they attended a Morristown Area Chamber of Commerce membership breakfast at Hola Lakeway on E. Andrew Johnson Highway.

MACC Chair-elect Adam Rankin kicked off the meeting in the brightly decorated community space at the regional international center.

“I just wanted to recognize that this community is multicultural,” he said. “It’s going to continue to be even more so. And the work that Hola Lakeway does to help integrate all of these cultures into a unified community is really just amazing to me. Without that work, the community wouldn’t be nearly as strong as it is, and we wouldn’t be growing nearly the way we are.”

He said the breakfast was a way for members and area leaders to learn about some of the services that Hola offers such as adult English (ELL) and Spanish language classes, High School Equivalency (Hi-SET) preparation, youth educational and leadership programs, first-generation college student resources, school interpretation services and more.

Morristown Mayor Gary Chesney said the partnerships developed between Hola and local governments have borne fruit.

“Hola is one of our examples of how you do things. You don’t have to go too far back in history to know of the growth of the new ethnic population that came here in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. And as we kind of are now almost into a third generation, there are communities, and stores, and churches, and businesses, and marriages that produce children.

“But there are still challenges, and some of those challenges occur in the schools with language learning and teaching.

“And Hola, now, what, in about the 12th year? This is how you do it. And I like to tell others how we do it. And so I want to give a shout-out to Hola. I’m a big fan of theirs, as you can tell. And I’m glad you’re here to learn more about it.”

Hola Executive Director Betsy Hurst talked about some of the work they’ve done recently.

“I am so honored to have you here at our home, at the Language and Culture Center. I just wanted to say we have at the tables our Impact Report. If you take the time to read it, there’s been a lot of work from last year. But I want to just clarify that we have about 23,000 books we are delivering… through our Hola STEM bus. So, you will have an opportunity to walk through that (bus parked outside), get a little tour, and enjoy the center.

“Welcome to our home. Every little piece of art that you see has been made by our students, from pre-K until high school. So, they enjoyed it and were a big part of that.”

Dr. KC Alvarado, one of the cofounders of Hola, said she’s blessed to be a part of what she’s seen.

“You know, when Willie and Santana and I were standing in a room in the Health Department just trying to help people and have conversations, we didn’t know that it would grow to this,” she said. “Every time, we’re always astonished, and then we’re like, ‘can we do this?’ And then we’re like, ‘No, we need to do more.’ And so, then God shows up, shows out and provides everything that we need.”

She spoke about the people served: immigrants that are “coming here, setting down roots, and becoming part of the East Tennessee area”, migrants that are “staying here for six months to help build up something and then go back to their country” and refugees who “have faced dangers, crime, and guerrilla warfare in their countries, and poverty, where economic mobility was not possible, and they come to be a part of this.”

“Over the past 12 years, we have served 20 countries,” Alvarado said. “On an average, we serve up to 1,095 families in this 10-county Lakeway region.

“We bring economic development here through our Language and Culture Institute, as well as through our festival. Under the International Festival, it’s amazing. If you’ve not been, please come. We have over 25 countries represented there, and we serve almost 5,000 people. Imagine the gas tax, the things that they stop at, and the hotels that they come to, because people come from as far as Chattanooga to be a part of it.

“Again, who we serve: we serve everyone. So, not just people that are not from America, from this area, or for this state, but we also serve you. We have Spanish classes, we do GED classes, we do STEM, we do robotics, we have workforce development, we have literacy and we have mental health (support).”