Liz Gilbert, president of the Milwaukee 2020 Host Committee, spoke about the Democratic National Convention’s expected impact on area businesses during a recent Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce event.
“You will never hear the host committee talk about beating Donald Trump or turning Wisconsin blue. We want lots of people with lots of different beliefs because we know that the economic impact here sees no color other than green.”
“When you go into a community, you have to do a serious listening tour. And that’s really important because you want to know what matters on the ground. I could come in and say ‘here are the things that I think should be the priorities,’ but that’s not how it works … it has to be about partnerships and collaborations.”
“If we are not doing what we said we are going to do, I hope you will hold us accountable.”
“We love feedback. We are not some organization that is going to be sitting on the top floor of some building and not engaging. When I say you will see us in your bars and in your gyms, hopefully, you will see that we are very much on the ground asking for advice.”
“For those who might not be that excited about the convention, I don’t think people are thinking creatively enough on how to use this convention … for talent recruitment and retention, to rebrand a company, to amplify their social media following. The opportunities are endless.”
“It will be very important to us as a host committee to show and share our values every single day we are here… Every decision we make is going to be super intentional. Every dollar we spend is going to be very, very intentional.”
