MILWAUKEE — The MKE 2024 Host Committee is launching a tool called Vendor Connection.
It is connecting local businesses with opportunities around the 2024 Republican National Convention. Vendor Connection gather information for a database so that the MKE 2024 Host Committee and other interested groups can connect businesses with convention-related opportunities.
“We encourage businesses looking for opportunities to submit their information on our website,” said Alison Prange, Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor for the MKE 2024 Host Committee. “We are excited to showcase Milwaukee’s small businesses to the world and are hopeful that the impact of the convention will stretch beyond 2024.”
The host committee said they are anticipating more than 50,000 people to visit Milwaukee next year.
Darrell Pate is the owner of 2Kings Barbershop. It’s housed in the Sherman Phoenix Marketplace.
He has his regular clientele, but he’s excited to know that thousands of people will visit the Greater Milwaukee area next year for the upcoming RNC.
“Any influx of people in economics is always good for all of us,” said Pate.
He said politics aside, small businesses need these kinds of boosts.
“We missed the Democratic National Convention,” said Pate. “I remember us preparing for it and then Covid hit.”
With more than 50,000 people visiting Milwaukee in 2024, Pate said he’s excited to offer his services, but also for his neighbors at Sherman Phoenix to be seen.
“This is a really nice vibe that goes on around here,” he said. “There’s lots of businesses that serve people and I’m sure that the guests from the RNC are really going to enjoy seeing our big community.”
Mayor Cavalier Johnson joined the MKE 2024 Host Committee to announce the launch of the vendor connection tool in a press conference Thursday.
Johnson said despite representing the other side of the aisle, he led the efforts to bring the RNC to Milwaukee for one sole purpose.
“I want for local businesses here in our city, here in our state, to be able to make money,” said Johnson. “I want them to be able to hire employees, to be able to spread the benefits of having a big convention throughout our economy locally.”
Johnson also emphasized the desire to grow Milwaukee’s hospitality and tourism industry.
“We need a diversity of revenue streams in order to take care of the enormous contributions that we make not just for the people who live in our city, but the regional and statewide impact that large metropolitan cities have in their states,” said Johnson.
Businesses that complete the form will be included in a database accessible by the Host Committee and its partners. The MKE 2024 Host Committee will provide email updates to businesses that submit their information to highlight available opportunities.
The MKE 2024 Host Committee will provide other community groups like VISIT Milwaukee access to the list for future large-scale events in Milwaukee, so that the convention’s impact can benefit the city for years to come.
To learn more or to get your business registered for the database, visit mke2024host.org/vendors.