MILWAUKEE — As we get closer to the start of the 2024 Republican National Convention, we want to explore every aspect of how the four-day event could impact our city, including how business owners are anticipating its arrival.
We spoke with one entrepreneur who turned her apprehension into optimism.
“Initially I was a little concerned and I was a little worried because I live here and I raise kids here and just not wanting harm to come to my kids or anybody else's kids,” said Ashley Valentine, Founder of Rooted MKE.
Valentine runs Rooted MKE, a local children’s bookstore dedicated to celebrating and uplifting storytellers and characters of color.
Located in the city’s Washington Heights neighborhood, Ashley says learning of the upcoming arrival of the Republican National Convention originally made her feel nervous.
“A lot of just fear of what that will look like, what energy will bring to the city, and what the impact of that would be when the convention is over and having to kind of just have tough conversations around what may or may not happen here was something that I was really concerned about,” said Valentine.
That fear of the arrival of thousands of new and unique visitors that may have different beliefs is something Tim Sheehy, the president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, wants to help ease, especially with how significant the RNC’s presence is for our city.
“It puts us on a global stage and that's important for the community. It's important for future conventions that see how we handle a convention like this and think about Milwaukee as a destination. So, it helps market us, it helps communicate our message, and it helps bring money back to the community,” said Sheehy.
As a member of the 2024 MKE Host Committee, Sheehy says he’s keenly aware of the hesitancy some business owners might have in trying to adjust to a potential surge in new clients from all across the country.
Still, he says the need for keeping an open mind is essential to ensuring Milwaukee can deliver a world-class experience.
“All that money then ripples through the economy, because those companies then are spending money on their employees, who are getting a paycheck and who are going out and spending that money, so you can see how that multiplies through the community,” said Sheehy.
Valentine says after much reflection, she’s excited for what she calls "the energy" the RNC will bring.
She says she’s looking at it as a great opportunity for people to experience our city and the people that make it diverse and special.
“As a small business, we have the opportunity of just holding space, even temporarily for someone, a part of kind of broadening someone's understanding of what the world looks like outside of their own mindset or outside of their own experience is offering an opportunity for them to learn and receive,” said Valentine.
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