I, Richard T. Van Remmen II, was born in Buffalo, New York on June 17, 1969. I moved to Rock Hill, South Carolina with my parents in January, 1980, and graduated from Rock Hill High School in 1988. I joined the United States Navy Nuclear Submarine Force 1 1/2 months after graduation, and was based in Charleston, South Carolina (temporarily based off-and-on in Kings Bay, Georgia) during my entire 4-year career. I served aboard 4 Ballistic missile submarines: The USS Andrew Jackson SSBN 619 ( http://www.ssbn619.org/ ) in 88-89 DECOM. Crew, the USS George Bancroft SSBN 643 ( http://www.ssbn643.org/ ) in 89 D.A.S.O. Run, the USS Casimir Pulaski SSBN 633 ( www.usscasimirpulaski.com ) in 91-92, and the USS Henry L. Stimson SSBN 655 for 3 1/2 weeks in 92), along with 1 Fast-Attack submarine; the USS Ray SSN 653 ( http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08653.htm ) in 1989-90 Mediterranean Run. I attained a rank of Petty Officer 3rd Class (E-4) as a QuarterMaster (QM3) or a navigator/submarine Helmsman-Planesman . I was given Confidential, Classified, Secret, Top Secret, and N.A.T.O. Top Secret clearances. I received my Dolphins for various "Fast-Attack" and "Boomer" Ballistic Missile submarine qualifications, a "Boomer" Patrol pin w/ 3 stars for 4 total "On-Alert" patrols at sea, a sea service ribbon w/ 3 stars for service at sea, a Humanitarian medal for the Hurricane Hugo disaster in Charleston, SC (1989), the National Defense medal for Operation Desert Shield/ Desert Storm (1990-91), a Good Conduct medal for 4-years of Honorable service ( http://www.military.com/HomePage/UserCreatedTributePage/0,10980,782786,00.html ), and departed the Navy (1992) and eventually received an Honorable Discharge after 4 years of inactive duty (1996). I went on to receive an Associate in Arts degree from York Technical College (1996), and later received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History, with a Minor in Geology from Winthrop University (2001).

We put our knowledge and experience together and created our business to help the Latino community in the Rock Hill, South Carolina, and surrounding areas with various issues of "everyday" life they have in this country. We first came up with the idea of the business in the Spring of 2002, when some Latino neighbors came to us for assistance to help them with interpretations for their child at a doctor's office visit. Word soon spread that we could help them, and others soon came to us for various issues like problems at the D.M.V., Immigration issues, various translations & interpretations, etc. It came to the point of purchasing a business license through the City of Rock Hill in October of 2002 for "Hispanic Services".

Our business is growing. New and old clients arrive with problems everyday, and we try to resolve all of them. We are open 7 days a week at varying hours to help the Latino Community with whatever issues they have. I am a Notary Public in the State of South Carolina. Along with notarizations, Our Services include certified  translations, on-site interpretations, provide information on where to take classes in English for Spanish Speakers and vise-versa in the area, immigration forms, Dept. of Motor Vehicle & Public Safety problems (car titles, property tax, vehicle registration, forms, etc.), law violations (traffic tickets, vehicle accidents, attorney representation), and various other issues Latinos have. We are a Certifying Acceptance Agent of the I.R.S. ( http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96883,00.htm ) for Form W-7 (ITIN - Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) working directly with the Internal Revenue Service, obtaining Tax ID #'s for Latinos, that they can use to open a bank account, buy a car, establish credit, even buy a house with, and especially to be used by them to pay taxes to our state & federal governments; I.E., creating new taxpayers. We also create legitimate and valid ID cards for Latinos; both of which are based on original government documentation from their home country. They, in turn, can also be used to track them by identifying who they are, where they are from, where they live, where they work, etc. if needed. These are main foundation blocks of our business. Almost everyday a new client arrives that needs our services. We don’t turn any of them away.

The biggest problem the Spanish-speaking Community has in this country, is the language barrier. The Latino people, we have learned, tend not to do business with businesses and companies that don’t have someone there that speaks Spanish, or available to translate English to Spanish and vice-versa. This is why we can’t set regular business hours since we have come across many "sudden" cases that need immediate attention. Appointments are preferred if possible.

We have developed a substantial number of customers and connections. Normal means of advertising doesn’t work to reach the Latino Community. We are a part of the St Anne's Catholic Church (located here in Rock Hill, SC.) International Festival held annually, along with several Spanish advertising agencies in Charlotte, NC., and we also appear on Spanish radio stations from time to time. Only recently have we linked up with other businesses locally, nationally, and internationally for assistance with various services for the Spanish-speaking people. Recent News articles, and local media coverage have also helped us to get attention for our services by the community. We became members of the Piedmont Business Associates in 2003, to let other businesses know of our services, and to let them know how we can assist them, along with the Latino community.

The Spanish-speaking community doesn’t just consist of people from Mexico, but many other countries like Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, along with Portugal, Spain, and even Canada (Canada, along with the U.S. has a very fast-growing population of Latinos). We have helped people from almost every single country listed. For this reason, each country's national flag is represented.

Our mission is to act as a bridge between the English, and Spanish-speaking people. Many people and businesses have seen the urgency to "get with the times", and hire people that can translate English to Spanish, or even learn the Spanish language to help improve communications between the two languages for expanding their customer base, and increasing their profits. We are here to assist when ever that is needed. We are bringing on board Yadira's family who live in Charlotte, NC. for Translations & Interpretations assistance as needed to help us meet our growing customer's needs. We are also building connections in other languages that we may in time incorporate into our business for translation / interpretation purposes. 

 Richard & Yadira Van Remmen

      Co-owners/Co-founders