Wells Fargo team member spends 90 days helping Joplin rebuild

(News release from Rebuild Joplin)

Garen McMillian, Financial Advisor at Wells Fargo Advisors, has spent the past 90 days helping his community rebuild after 30% of the city was destroyed by an EF-5 tornado.

In the days that followed May 22nd, McMillian worked as a leader on the team that launched RebuildJoplin.org, a website dedicated to connecting every need with available resources. “It was a desperate time and I wanted to help. There was a clear need for verified information that was easy to access. We were gathered around a conference table hammering out ideas and decided that this website was the right thing to do. It was something that Joplin needed,” said McMillian. In less than 36 hours, moments before President Obama gave a speech in Joplin, McMillian and his team launched the website.

To date RebuildJoplin.org has attracted nearly 300,000 page views from 98 countries. The organization received funding for two years and hired six employees who lost their jobs due to the tornado. McMillian said the entire project was possible because of Wells Fargo Advisors Branch Manager Bryan Vowels. “It’s been a rewarding journey and I am extremely thankful that Bryan supported donating my time to Rebuild Joplin. Bryan didn’t hesitate. He saw the need, recognized that we could help and gave me his unwavering support. This was a life changing experience that wouldn’t have happened without Bryan’s vision and commitment to this community.” Today, the community is recovering and McMillian is back at Wells Fargo Advisors helping people reach their financial goals.