Program converts decades of industry feedback into action, linking $2.7 trillion in Hispanic buying power with $240 billion in projected 2026 mortgage originations

DETROIT, Aug. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Today, the Hispanic Organization of Mortgage Experts (HOME) — a nonprofit dedicated to empowering Hispanic and Latino Americans through homeownership education and advocacy — announced the launch of HOME Certified, powered by Twiz.io, the mortgage industry’s first bilingual learning management system. The organization also introduced Wholesale Search, an AI-powered tool built on ChatGPT that matches borrowers with lenders offering the products they need in seconds. Both tools are now live and available to members at www.TuNuevoHome.com.

The on-demand LMS trains and certifies loan officers to serve Hispanic and Latino borrowers, a group expected to drive 70 percent of U.S. homeownership growth in the next 20 years.

But while HOME advances bilingual access, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced an “English-only” initiative, eliminating translated documents long used by Hispanic families. Advocates warn the shift could disproportionately affect millions of Americans — particularly residents of Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory — by limiting access to critical housing resources.

“HOME Certified is a movement built for generational impact,” said Rogelio Goertzen, founder and CEO of HOME. “After 13 years in lending, we kept hearing the same thing from banks, financial institutions, broker owners, and branch managers: they wanted Spanish-speaking loan officers but had no structured way to train them. So, we built a bilingual, tech-driven platform that turns intent into funded mortgages, generational wealth, and lender growth. By pairing AI speed with cultural fluency, we propel loan officers a decade ahead and give businesses a 20-year growth engine—no matter where the market goes.”

Wholesale search scans more than 150 wholesale lenders and filters results by loan type, rate, closing speed, language support, and platform compatibility such as Encompass or Arive. Loan officers paste a short prompt into the tool and receive a ranked list of lenders tailored to each borrower. HOME refreshes the link and database regularly, so only active members retain access. 

“Education is the gateway to opportunity and the antidote to fear,” said Cubie Hernandez, HOME chief technology and learning officer. “Our team decided to lead by example investing time and money to build a bilingual platform and a search tool that delivers practical, business-building lessons, shows loan officers how to grow and enables families to approach the mortgage process with confidence. We hope this move inspires our industry to take note of the power of blending education and technology — and to join us in expanding access for every family.”

HOME Certified:

• First bilingual mortgage LMS built from decades of lender feedback
• Self-paced modules on income and credit analysis, program selection, compensation rules, intercultural fluency, and compliance
• HOME Certified badge signaling trust to borrowers and value to employers
• Converts intent into funded loans and generational wealth

HOME’s Wholesale Search

• AI searches across 150 wholesale lenders, filtered by loan type, rate, speed, and system compatibility
• Automatic link and data updates remove inactive users and protect performance metrics
• Faster lender selection that prioritizes HOME partners and frees loan officers to focus on sales

To become a member or request a demo of HOME Certified, visit www.TuNuevoHome.com/join.

ABOUT HOME

The Hispanic Organization of Mortgage Experts (HOME) is a nonprofit dedicated to breaking down barriers to homeownership for Hispanic and Latino Americans. From financial education to industry advocacy, HOME empowers mortgage professionals with the resources needed to serve this fast-growing market. For more information on available resources or how to get involved, visit www.TuNuevoHome.com.

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SOURCE Hispanic Organization of Mortgage Experts (HOME)

New video series from New Worlds Reading highlights the transformative power of literacy as families gear up for the back-to-school season.

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Aug. 25, 2025 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Nearly one million children in Florida are not yet reading on grade level, but this back-to-school season, students like Jahara and Faustino are proving that one book can be the beginning of something bigger.

Their stories are part of a new video series from New Worlds Reading, Florida’s free at-home literacy program for eligible students in VPK through 5th grade.

Since launching in 2021, the statewide literacy program has shipped more than 11 million books to families across Florida. Each enrolled student receives nine free books per school year delivered directly to their home, accompanied by engaging activities. Families can select which books they’d like to receive, along with their preferred reading language: English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, or braille.

Now, with the new school year approaching, the program is sharing the voices of real Florida students to bring its impact to life.

One of those voices is Faustino, a Florida fifth grader from Argentina who moved to the U.S. without knowing any English. “I felt afraid to read books,” Faustino said, but with help from New Worlds Reading, he found a story that reflected his passion. Now, he says he loves reading in both English and Spanish.

“From New Worlds Reading, I chose a book about soccer, and I loved reading it,” said Faustino. “My mom urged me to study, study, study. Now, I feel… incredible.”

Faustino’s story is echoed by Jahara, a fourth grader who, in her words, used to pretend to be sick to avoid reading at school. Today, she’s not only a proud reader, but she’s also helping her younger sister, Jazuri, read, who recently enrolled in the program.

“Programs like New Worlds Reading don’t just send books. We help students see themselves as readers,” said Robin Gregory, MSM., Assistant Director of New Worlds Reading. “New Worlds Reading was designed to help Florida’s striving readers strengthen their literacy skills, build confidence, and foster a lifelong love of reading. These stories show how a single book can open up an entirely new world.”

As the new school year begins, New Worlds Reading is reminding families that a small moment, like receiving a book in the mail, can be the start of a powerful transformation.

Watch Jahara and Faustino’s stories here. To learn more or enroll your child, visit NewWorldsReading.com. Follow @NewWorldsReading on social media for more student stories, reading tips, and updates.

Media Contact: [email protected] 

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SOURCE New Worlds Reading Initiative

WEST ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., Aug. 22, 2025 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The Great Bay Insurance Group (the “Group”), the leading provider of coastal homeowners’ insurance in New Jersey, today announced that Timothy J. Byrne, Sr., Chief Executive Officer of the Group, has been award the Company Person of the Year by the PIANJ at its annual conference.  This award is given to individuals who foster a strong working relationship with agents and brokers, and who exemplify a commitment to professionalism and service.

Great Bay is a coastal Homeowners writer in New Jersey with plans to expand into other products and States.  Great Bay is known for its ease of doing business, prompt fair claims handling and most of all for providing a stable market.

Mr. Byrne, Sr., a founding member of the Group in 2019, has over 40 years of broad industry experience in various leadership capacities.  Mr. Byrne began his career at 14 years old working summers in his father’s retail agency founded by his grandfather John J Byrne in 1959, The J Byrne Agency of Cape May County NJ, working nine summers while attending Wildwood High School, Rutgers College and a post-graduate degree in Insurance from what is now the St. John’s School of Risk Management, Insurance & Actuarial Science. Mr. Byrne joined the agency full-time in June of 1983.

In 2003 Mr. Byrne, having identified the need for a Coastal Homeowners option, founded Coastal Agents Alliance (“CAA”) ultimately placing over $50,000,000 in surplus lines homeowners’ business in eight northeast states.  In 2015 he sold CAA to Gryphon investors who merged CAA with Orchid Underwriters out of Vero Beach FL.

After three years at Orchid Underwriters, Mr. Byrne left to form Great Bay Insurance Group, which began operations in August of 2019. In Mr. Byrne’s acceptance speech, he highlighted his love of independent agents and how IAs were the key to his success.  Between his time at CAA and Orchid he claimed he has probably visited more independent agencies than any other person alive. “Few can do what independent agencies can do,” Mr. Byrne told the audience of independent agents. “From the threat of ‘captive agents’ in the 1970s to the ‘banks-forming-insurance-agencies’ of the 1990s to the current AI and the internet cutting out the middleman, agents have survived.  Weathering the coastal HO crises post Andrew or KRW, or the wildfire crisis post-California fires, IA’s have not only survived but thrive in challenging environments. Other outlets of distribution pack up and go home,” said Mr. Byrne.

Contact:
Investor Relations
Brian Schleider
609-434-2000, x102
[email protected]

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SOURCE Great Bay Insurance Group

ATLANTA, Aug. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The Home Depot^® announced today that the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has granted early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act”), in connection with The Home Depot’s previously announced tender offer to purchase, through its wholly owned subsidiary Gold Acquisition Sub, Inc. (“Purchaser”) and subject to certain conditions, all of the outstanding shares of common stock of GMS (the “Shares”), at a price of $110.00 per Share in cash, without interest and subject to any required withholding of taxes.

The termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act satisfies one of the conditions necessary for the consummation of the tender offer and the transactions under the previously announced merger agreement, dated June 29, 2025, by and among The Home Depot, Purchaser and GMS (the “merger agreement”). Consummation of the tender offer remains subject to, among other conditions, the expiration of the applicable waiting period under the Canadian Competition Act and the tender, as of immediately prior to the Expiration Time (as defined below), of a majority of the Shares then outstanding.

The tender offer will expire at one minute after 11:59 p.m., Eastern time, on Friday August 22, 2025, unless the tender offer is otherwise extended further or earlier terminated in accordance with the merger agreement and the applicable rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (such time, the “Expiration Time”). 

About The Home Depot

The Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer. At the end of the second quarter, the company operated more than 2,353 retail stores, over 800 branches and more than 325 distribution centers that directly fulfill customer orders across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The company employs over 470,000 associates. The Home Depot’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

This press release is for informational purposes only and is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell securities of GMS Inc. (“GMS”). The Home Depot, Inc. (“The Home Depot”) and its indirect, wholly owned subsidiary, Gold Acquisition Sub, Inc., have filed a tender offer statement on Schedule TO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), containing an Offer to Purchase all of the outstanding shares of common stock of GMS, related Letter of Transmittal and other related documents, and GMS has filed a Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 with the SEC with respect to the tender offer. HOLDERS OF SHARES OF GMS ARE URGED TO CAREFULLY READ THE RELEVANT TENDER OFFER MATERIALS (INCLUDING THE OFFER TO PURCHASE, THE RELATED LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL AND OTHER TENDER OFFER DOCUMENTS) AND THE SOLICITATION/RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT ON SCHEDULE 14D-9 BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT HOLDERS OF GMS SECURITIES SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE MAKING ANY DECISION REGARDING TENDERING THEIR SECURITIES. The Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and other tender offer documents, as well as the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement, are available to all holders of GMS stock at no expense to them. The tender offer materials and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement are available for free at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Additional copies may be obtained for free by contacting The Home Depot or GMS. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by GMS are available free of charge on GMS’s internet website at https://investor.gms.com. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by The Home Depot are available free of charge on The Home Depot’s internet website at https://ir.homedepot.com/ or by contacting The Home Depot’s Investor Relations Department at (770) 384-2871.

In addition to the Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and certain other tender offer documents, as well as the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement, The Home Depot and GMS each file annual, quarterly and current reports and other information with the SEC. The Home Depot and GMS’s filings with the SEC are also available to the public from commercial document-retrieval services and at the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
 

Certain statements contained herein constitute “forward-looking statements” as defined in the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are based on currently available information and current assumptions, expectations and projections of The Home Depot (collectively with its subsidiaries unless the context otherwise indicates, the “Company”) about future events, and may use words such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “project,” “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “target,” “prospects,” “potential,” “commit,” and “forecast” or words of similar import or meaning or refer to future time periods. Forward-looking statements may relate to, among other things, the proposed acquisition of GMS (the “potential acquisition”); the potential benefits of the potential acquisition, including with respect to future financial performance; the anticipated timing of closing of the potential acquisition (including to obtain necessary regulatory approvals); and the anticipated funding for the potential acquisition. Forward-looking statements are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the following: the possibility that the potential acquisition does not close on the anticipated timeframe or at all (including failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals and uncertainties as to how many of GMS’s stockholders will tender their shares in the tender offer); risks related to the ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the potential acquisition, including the possibility that the expected benefits from the proposed transaction will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period; the risk that the businesses will not be integrated successfully; disruption from the potential acquisition making it more difficult to maintain business and operational relationships; negative effects of announcing the potential acquisition or the consummation of the potential acquisition on the market price of the Company’s or GMS’s common stock, credit ratings or operating results or on relationships with customers, suppliers and other counterparties; significant costs associated with the potential acquisition; unknown liabilities; the risk of litigation and/or regulatory actions related to the potential acquisition; the demand for the Company’s or GMS’s products and services, including as a result of macroeconomic conditions and changing customer preferences and expectations; the effects of competition; the Company’s brand and reputation; implementation of interconnected retail, store, supply chain, technology innovation and other strategic initiatives, including with respect to real estate; inventory and in-stock positions; the state of the economy; the state of the housing and home improvement markets; the state of the credit markets, including mortgages, home equity loans, and consumer and trade credit; the impact of tariffs, trade policy changes or restrictions, or international trade disputes and efforts and ability to continue to diversify the Company’s supply chain; issues related to the payment methods the Company accepts; demand for credit offerings including trade credit; management of relationships with the Company’s associates, jobseekers, suppliers and service providers; cost and availability of labor; costs of fuel and other energy sources; events that could disrupt the Company’s business, supply chain, technology infrastructure, or demand for the Company’s products and services, such as tariffs, trade policy changes or restrictions or international trade disputes, natural disasters, climate change, public health issues, cybersecurity events, labor disputes, geopolitical conflicts, military conflicts, or acts of war; the Company’s ability to maintain a safe and secure store environment; the Company’s ability to address expectations regarding sustainability and human capital management matters and meet related goals; continuation or suspension of share repurchases; future dividends; capital allocation and expenditures; liquidity; return on invested capital; expense leverage; changes in interest rates; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; commodity or other price inflation and deflation; the Company’s ability to issue debt on terms and at rates acceptable to the Company; the impact and expected outcome of investigations, inquiries, claims, and litigation, including compliance with related settlements; the challenges of operating in international markets; the adequacy of insurance coverage; the effect of accounting charges; the effect of adopting certain accounting standards; the impact of legal and regulatory changes, including executive orders and other administrative or legislative actions, such as changes to tax laws and regulations; store openings and closures; and the impact of other acquired companies on the Company’s organization and the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of any other completed or pending acquisitions.

These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to future events, risks and uncertainties – many of which are beyond the Company’s control, dependent on the actions of third parties, or currently unknown to the Company – as well as potentially inaccurate assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s historical experience and its expectations and projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors,” and elsewhere in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2025 and also as described from time to time in reports subsequently filed by the Company with the SEC. There also may be other factors that the Company cannot anticipate or that are not described herein, generally because the Company does not currently perceive them to be material. Such factors could cause results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company does not undertake to update these statements other than as required by law. You are advised, however, to review any further disclosures the Company makes on related subjects in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in its other public statements.

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SOURCE The Home Depot

ATLANTA, Aug. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The Home Depot^®, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, today announced that its board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $2.30 per share. The dividend is payable on September 18, 2025, to shareholders of record on the close of business on September 4, 2025. This is the 154^th consecutive quarter the company has paid a cash dividend.

The Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer. At the end of the second quarter, the company operated a total of 2,353 retail stores and over 800 branches across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The Company employs over 470,000 associates. The Home Depot’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

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SOURCE The Home Depot