Recently in Community Category

Matt Wadley

As Ann Marie blogged in Tuesday's announcement about our local charity grants in Arizona and Nevada, today we're excited to share the results for our charitable donations in California and Illinois!

To quickly recap, Wells Fargo has been sending Wachovia customers in converting states a What to Expect packet with a general overview of the integration (happening in March for Illinois customers and in April for California customers) and an invitation to help choose the nonprofits in their state to receive one of the grants. The response from our customers in California and Illinois was overwhelming — we received over 47,000 ballots!

Here's how it works: Wells Fargo is giving $25,000 to the nonprofit receiving the largest number of votes, $15,000 to the second-place vote-getter, $10,000 to the third-place organization and $5,000 each to the two remaining groups. Due to California's size and the company's significant presence there, voting was broken into seven different regions within the state.

And now without further ado, here are the recipient nonprofit organizations and the amounts of the grants...

Ann Marie Quinn

While the weather might be cold where you live, things are heating up for some local non-profit organizations in Arizona and Nevada.

As we announced earlier, Arizona, California, Illinois and Nevada are the next states to convert. And as we did with Colorado, Wells Fargo sent a What to Expect mailing to Wachovia customers in those states that provided a general overview of the March integration. This mailing also invited customers to help choose the charitable organizations that would receive a grant as a show of support and commitment to the communities we serve.

Well, in the two states we're announcing today, Arizona and Nevada, over 6,000 Wachovia customers cast their ballots! (Come back soon to find out who was selected in California and Illinois.)

Based on that overwhelming response, we're excited today to announce grants totaling $120,000 to 10 charities — five in each state! The grants are part of a broader 2010 integration-related charitable effort to provide more than $1 million to organizations serving people in need.

The five Arizona charities who will receive Wells Fargo grants are:

• Association of Arizona Food Banks ($25,000)
• American Cancer Society – Arizona Chapter ($15,000)
• Habitat for Humanity of Central Arizona ($10,000)
• Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Central Arizona ($5,000)
• Special Olympics Arizona ($5,000)

The five Nevada charities who will receive Wells Fargo grants are:

• Three Square Food Bank of Southern Nevada Chapters ($25,000)
• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Las Vegas and Northern Nevada Chapters ($15,000)
• Habitat for Humanity – Las Vegas, Inc. and Truckee Meadows Chapters ($10,000)
• United Way of Northern Nevada and the Sierra and Southern Nevada Chapters ($5,000)
• Junior Achievement of Northern and Southern Nevada Chapters ($5,000)

We salute these groups (and many others) for the great work they do every day to help their communities. Don't forget, please check back soon for the California and Illinois winners!

Wayne Thompson

Assistant Los Angeles Treasurer Crista Binder is ecstatic about the virtual treasury system Wachovia and Wells Fargo built for the city of Los Angeles...and about the more than $5.5 million the system has saved the city of Los Angeles to date.

Gone are the days of paper reports stacked to the ceiling and cashiers hand-entering hundreds of deposit records from multiple agencies into a central bank account through a 20-year-old general ledger mainframe computer system.

Using the Wells Fargo Electronic Deposit^SM service and a host of other products, employees of more than 15 city departments now transmit deposits with a few clicks. Wireless terminals at Los Angeles International Airport now send credit card payments instantly, saving parking lot attendants 400 hours of work.

Binder's favorite benefit: being able to create separate accounts for each of the city's 42 businesses instead of running all activity through one account. The system is helping the city "go green" by eliminating thousands of paper statements, returned checks, and paper lockbox documents. It's even saving residents the $4.95 fee they used to be charged for electronic utility payments now that the city can provide the service itself instead of using a vendor.

"Our story now is one of efficiency, reduced risk, and transparency," Binder says. "Departments can get daily online statements and reports over the city's intranet and gain seamless entry to multiple billing systems. It's a whole new world that has allowed us to go from being a clerical function to being recognized as an essential partner and advisor in the financial activities of the city."

Wells Fargo's Lynn Love and Wachovia's Corrie Bowman came together to make it happen....

Wayne Thompson

As Matt promised earlier, we'd like to share a little slideshow of some photos we took in Colorado on November 9, when Wachovia financial centers across the state reopened as Wells Fargo Community Banking stores!

As you all know, it was the first conversion of the merger and the first of six in overlapping markets. For all of you in states with conversions coming up, we hope these pictures offer a little glimpse of what you can expect.

Thanks so much and keep those comments and questions coming!

Molly Murphy

As Thanksgiving approaches, we'd like to thank all of our readers and those who've joined the conversation here about our Integration activities. Your comments have guided our discussion and helped us respond to questions and issues that you find most important.

A reminder: Although our banking stores will be closed on Thanksgiving, our stagecoach will definitely be out and about helping to celebrate the holiday in community parades all over! Check out the Stagecoach Appearance page for more information.

Also, if you have banking needs on Thanksgiving, we have 24-hour service online and on the phone:

As always, we want this blog to be an educational and information resource — so please keep your questions and comments coming!

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.

Lovester Law

In 1620, William Bradford  and others embarked on the two-month journey to the
New World. Their journey began the evolution and success of the America we know today. In 1621, his Plymouth colony celebrated the First Thanksgiving , setting the stage for the national holiday as we know it.

In 1958 (just a few years later), Wells Fargo had its first Stagecoach Appearance Program event. It symbolized the connection between Wells Fargo and the American spirit of inspiration, hard work and determination. When the stagecoach appeared in its first Thanksgiving Day Parade some time later, a new holiday tradition was born.

These days, it's hard to separate Thanksgiving and the Wells Fargo Stagecoach. And whenever the stage appears in Thanksgiving Day Parades across the nation, we're reminded of our values and our continuing commitment to helping people and communities succeed financially.

That's a promise we can deliver.

This year, on November 26, 27 and 28, the Wells Fargo Stagecoach will appear in over 20 Thanksgiving and Holiday Parades all over the country, including:

• The Carolinas' Thanksgiving Day Parade  in Charlotte, North Carolina
• The Fountain Hills Thanksgiving Day Parade  in Fountain Hills, Arizona
• The Ft. Worth Parade of Lights  in Ft. Worth, Texas
• Macy's Holiday Parade  in Portland, Oregon
• McDonald's Thanksgiving Day Parade  in Chicago, Illinois

If you'd like to find out other great places where the Wells Fargo Stagecoach will be appearing, you can find out right here.

Wells Fargo is proud to be a part of our country's storied past, as well as its bright, promising future. And when you see the stagecoach rolling down the street in your community, I hope you'll be reminded of our continuing commitment to you, our customers.

We all have something to be thankful for. So let's surround ourselves with friends and loved ones and really enjoy this great American tradition called "Thanksgiving"!

Matt Wadley

For the past year, we've blogged about some of the ways this merger benefits you, our customers, such as the combination of employee resources to help the communities we serve.

Just last week, Wells Fargo announced that team members pledged a record $41.9 million to more than 25,000 nonprofits, schools and religious institutions through the 2009 Community Support and United Way Campaign. This was a 21 percent increase over the combined Wells Fargo and Wachovia campaigns in 2008.

Additionally, thousands of team members volunteered during the campaign alongside local nonprofits including United Way's Day of Caring.

We're very proud of the strong legacies of community giving that both Wells Fargo and Wachovia have, and this recent news is additional confirmation that we are indeed "one team, twice as strong."

Wayne Thompson

Texan Christine Willis is making her first trip to Colorado but it's not a vacation.

She's a Buddy Banker working in Colorado Springs to help a new Wells Fargo teammate succeed for her customers. Over the years, hundreds of Wachovia and Wells Fargo team members have flown into markets during integrations to spend days — even weeks — helping local team members learn new computer systems, products and processes.

Wachovia called it the Ambassador Program. At Wells Fargo, it's called Buddy Bankers.

"Buddy Bankers are a great resource for us," says Tammi Clawson, service manager for Wells Fargo's new Austin Bluffs and Academy store  in Colorado Springs — a Wachovia location that converted to Wells Fargo on Nov. 9. "You have someone right there to turn to for help so we can deliver the best possible service to our customers."

As Clawson and other team members closed the store November 7 to get ready to open for business as Wells Fargo on Monday, Willis, a service manager from Katy, Texas, and her Buddy Banker teammate, Alex Oh, a store manager from San Jose, California, worked right alongside them. One of their jobs: assembling a Wells Fargo plush pony checking account promotional display.

"We're helping get everything converted over and ready," says Willis, who, like Ho, volunteered for the Buddy Banker assignment. Adds Ho, "It's great to work with the team here. They've already got a lot done on their checklist."

Both will be in Colorado through November 21. For Willis, it's her first visit to Colorado and her first experience as a Buddy Banker. "I'm looking forward to the opportunity to coach and mentor, meet new people and work with incredible teammates," she notes. "I grew up in the Tennessee Mountains so it's also neat to be here in the Rockies."

Each of the 19 Wachovia financial centers that became Wells Fargo stores have at least two Buddy Bankers. In overlapping markets such as Colorado, Buddy Bankers might come from a few miles away. Elsewhere, support might come from 2,000 miles and several times zones away.

Wherever they call home, Suzanne Allen, teller manager for Glenn Allen, Virginia, and a Wachovia ambassador for three mergers, says Buddy Bankers send a powerful message.

"It shows the customer that we care," she explains. "They see there's support and preparation to help them and the team members succeed."

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.

Wayne Thompson

Together, Wells Fargo and Wachovia have more than 6,600 banking stores in 39 states and the District of Columbia, but none quite like the one at E. Bell Road  in Phoenix.

Since July 20, the Wachovia banking location there has doubled as a separate Wells Fargo banking store as well — with two distinct signs, teller lines, computer systems, vaults, managers and teams serving customers of both banks through the same set of doors.

"The unique arrangement came about when a grocery store closed, and its in-house Wells Fargo banking store team moved across the street into the Wachovia building. Both teams will continue to serve Wells Fargo and Wachovia customers separately until Arizona's stores and systems are converted.

Lisa Riley, Metro West Regional Banking president in Phoenix, notes that the first-of-its-kind combination was a much better option for customers and the company than opening a new Wells Fargo location for only a few months. While walking into a store with a Wachovia sign on one side of the building and a Wells Fargo sign on the other may seem unusual, she says the teams have worked well together and separately to put customers first and meet their financial needs.

"The results have been strong," Riley reports. "Both teams have outstanding service scores."

Brittany Fixler, an 11-year Wells Fargo veteran who became manager of the E. Bell Road location last summer, explains why the unique store is a hit with customers.

"It's been working very well because we've found that most of our Wachovia customers have Wells Fargo accounts," she says. "So, having both stores in the same location is very convenient for our customers."

Some of the customer comments she's gotten are:

• "Now that I know both banks are here, this makes it much more convenient."
• "I can now withdraw from my Wells Fargo account and pay my mortgage at Wachovia in the same building."
• "Convenience at Wells, service at Wachovia...a great combination!"

Fixler also points out that the experience has helped knit the two teams into one and already allowed them to begin combining the best of both companies. "It's going to be exciting to bring together the legacy of service at Wachovia and the systems and culture of Wells Fargo," she says.

So be sure to look for more of this kind of great teamwork as we complete our first state, Colorado, next week — as well as in the Wachovia banking locations in Nevada and Arizona, which will follow next!

Because as Fixler concludes, "As our experience here has shown, when we mix the two, it’s going to be wonderful."

How about you? Do you have any stories about our teams have helped you? Please let us know!

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.                                                          Equal Housing Lender

Molly Murphy

It's been a while, but today we bring you the next installment in our series on cities where Wells Fargo and Wachovia have significant histories! Today we turn to the Southwest, and Phoenix, Arizona — a city with loads to offer. And your guide is a woman who knows all about it: Connie Whalen is the Curator at Wells Fargo's Phoenix History Museum. She's been with Wells Fargo for 26 years, and continues to design and build wonderful historical exhibits. Not only that, she's been a member of the Board of Trustees for the Phoenix Museum of History for 5 years and was elected President in March of 2005. Take it away, Connie!

Thanks, Molly! Well, so far on our Wells Fargo and Wachovia cities tours, we've stopped in Charlotte, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Winston-Salem. Now it's my turn to "show you around" my city: Phoenix, Arizona, the state's largest city and capitol!

Founded in 1868, Phoenix eventually became a major hub for transportation, finance, industry, and culture in the Southwestern U.S. I've lived in this great city since I was 2 years old and I love it here. And I know Wells Fargo is proud to have played a role in helping make Phoenix the thriving metropolis that it is today.

For many, many years we've heard that Phoenix is just a "baby city" with no art and culture. But we've grown up quite a bit in the last 100 years (I haven't been here for all of it!), and as for history, well, both Phoenix and Wells Fargo have very rich ones here.

In 1895 the Commercial Hotel, which was located on the corners of Central and Jefferson, was an important stage stop in Phoenix. With a Wells Fargo Office located inside, stagecoach travelers were able to utilize modern conveniences on their long trips.

Today, just two blocks from the site of the Commercial Hotel is the Wells Fargo Plaza in downtown Phoenix. Located on the first level of the building facing Adams Street is the Wells Fargo History Museum. Helping to design and build this museum together was one of the most gratifying experiences of my life: I was able to blend two of my favorite things, Phoenix and Wells Fargo. Now I get to show visitors great artifacts and tell some great stories! And every year we see hundreds of children learning about Arizona history and the migration west....