{"id":217627,"date":"2026-06-12T17:56:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T17:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/217627\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T17:56:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T17:56:11","slug":"houlahan-honors-centro-hispanos-60-years-of-service-in-remarks-on-house-floor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/217627\/","title":{"rendered":"Houlahan honors Centro Hispano’s 60 years of service in remarks on House floor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Centro Hispano Daniel Torres was recognized on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives this week as it celebrates 60 years of service to Reading and Berks County. Watch Video<\/a><\/p>\n

During remarks delivered June 8, U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan honored the organization\u2019s six decades of work supporting Latino families throughout the region and highlighted the contributions of its longtime president and CEO, Michael Toledo.<\/p>\n

\u201cI rise today to recognize and celebrate the 60th anniversary of Centro Hispano, one of the longest-running Latino-serving organizations in Pennsylvania and a cornerstone of Reading and Berks Counties since 1966,\u201d Houlahan said.<\/p>\n

She noted that for six decades the organization has helped generations of Latino families navigate education, healthcare, immigration, employment and other aspects of daily life.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, Reading is home to one of the most vibrant and diverse Latino populations in the Northeast, and Centro Hispano remains a trusted friend and first stop for families seeking help,\u201d Houlahan said.<\/p>\n

A significant portion of her remarks focused on Toledo\u2019s leadership and community involvement over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere would be no Centro Hispano without Mike Toledo,\u201d Houlahan said. \u201cMike has spent decades moving mountains for the people of Reading.\u201d<\/p>\n

She cited his efforts connecting families with food assistance, supporting children\u2019s nutrition programs, organizing COVID-19 vaccination clinics, assisting families following the tragedy at the Palmer factory, and encouraging civic engagement through voter registration efforts.<\/p>\n

Houlahan also reflected on Toledo\u2019s well-known greeting to community members.<\/p>\n

\u201cMike greets people with two simple words: \u2018Hello, family,’\u201d she said. \u201cAnd in that spirit of compassion, dignity, and community, we define both the man and the institution he helped build.\u201d<\/p>\n

The congresswoman concluded by congratulating Toledo and the organization on \u201c60 extraordinary years of service,\u201d adding that Berks County is stronger because of their work.<\/p>\n

Following the recognition, Toledo shared the video of Houlahan\u2019s remarks and thanked the congresswoman for helping commemorate the milestone.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, I am incredibly humbled and honored to share something very special with our Greater Reading and Berks County community,\u201d Toledo wrote in a message posted online.<\/p>\n

He noted that the remarks have been entered into the Congressional Record, making Centro Hispano\u2019s history and contributions part of the permanent record of Congress.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes this recognition even more meaningful is that her remarks are now permanently entered into the Congressional Record, ensuring that the story of Centro Hispano\u2019s six decades of service, advocacy, and community impact becomes part of our nation\u2019s history,\u201d Toledo said.<\/p>\n

He added that the honor belongs to the many staff members, volunteers, board members, donors, community partners and families who have supported the organization since its founding in 1966.<\/p>\n

\u201cTogether, we have worked to build a stronger, more welcoming, and more vibrant community for all,\u201d Toledo said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Centro Hispano Daniel Torres was recognized on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives this week as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":217628,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":["post-217627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217627\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}