RNC host committee now actively recruiting volunteers for July convention

Efforts are officially underway to recruit roughly 6,000 volunteers ahead of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this summer.

The nonprofit-nonpartisan local host committee is seeking individuals of all ages to help welcome more than 50,000 visitors for the GOP’s four-day presidential nominating convention, set for July 15-18. Roles will range from airport greeters to way-finders around the city. Those interested in getting involved can sign up now at mke2024host.org/volunteers.

Volunteers are needed to fill more than 8,000 total shifts in Milwaukee and across southeastern Wisconsin from July 14-19 as well as for prep and clean-up work several days before and after convention week. Youth under the age of 16 are required to have a parent or guardian sign up and volunteer with them.

“Our volunteers are going to be ambassadors who work on our behalf and their role is so important to our success as a city,” said Alison Prange, chief operating officer of the MKE 2024 Host Committee, at a press conference Friday announcing the launch of the group’s volunteer recruitment campaign.

Among several local leaders at Friday’s press conference was Tim Sheehy, former president and current senior advisor at the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, who encouraged Milwaukee-area companies to “give employees a day or a couple days off” to volunteer for the host committee.

Under Sheehy’s leadership, MMAC played an instrumental role in securing the bids for both the 2024 RNC and the 2020 Democratic National Convention — which was ultimately scaled back to an entirely virtual event due to the COVID-19 pandemic — acting solely in the interest of the local business community and economy. The RNC is expected to have a $250 million economic impact on the region.

“This isn’t about wearing a red jersey or a blue jersey, this is about putting on the green jersey and paying it forward,” said Sheehy. “This is a great opportunity to volunteer, to help showcase this region, to raid the cash register, to help bring other events back because of the experience that people have when they come here.”

Putting local volunteers on the frontline of welcoming the high-profile, international crowd any political convention convenes is key to leaving a positive lasting impression in the minds of visitors — many of which has never been to Milwaukee — and laying the crowd work for even more major events in the years to come, according to Peggy Williams-Smith, president and CEO of VISIT Milwaukee, which has its own corps of 200 volunteers who will be on the ground in July.

“Volunteers will play a critical component of how we will roll out the red carpet for each and every one of the 50,000 guests who are coming to visit,” said Williams-Smith. “On top of a warm welcome, those volunteers will also be showcasing our incredibly vibrant cultural scene.”

The YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee is another local group that is teaming up with the host committee, putting the strength of its 30,000-volunteer base behind the recruitment effort. In addition, the organization will work to get other Milwaukee-area nonprofits involved.

Specifics about the various volunteer roles will be available in the coming months, and registrants will have the opportunity to choose their shifts and attend a training session ahead of the convention.