Many areas were beaten by Hurricane Matthew as it roared up the East Coast. Residents of Flagler Beach came together this past weekend to repair the damage caused by the storm. Numerous volunteers including Joe Mullins of Mullins Management and Entertainment, a company that owns commercial real estate across the Southeast and manages nonprofit events, worked to clean the beach and reopen the area as soon as possible.

“This community means the world to me and when I knew the damage was great in the area, I wanted to help.” Joe Mullins is from Augusta, Georgia and travels frequently between his two homes. Mullins purchased lunch for over 150 volunteers including residents, fireman, police and city workers from Golden Lion and Tortugas restaurants. “While my companies plan to help in many other ways, it was the least I could do as everyone sacrificed their time in the hot weather to reclaim our beach. I have loved this community for many years. It has been very good to me and holds precious memories for my family. I think it is so incredible to see so many come together.”

According to the FlaglerLive.com, the “plan is to have at least the beach in the area of the boardwalk opened up soon, with as quick a repair to as many walk-overs as possible in the near future to progressively reopen further portions. It’s essential for the city’s economy and its sense of normalcy, even though big portions of A1A, which collapsed, will remain closed, forcing businesses along that stretch at the south end of town to try to survive by attracting customers through Central Avenue.”

Mullins plans to continue to work with city officials to provide time and resources to clean the beach and assist local businesses that have suffered significant loss from the storm.