submitted by Jessika Kasten; photo by Pete Christianson
Alex Lasry pictured here with Club President Andrea Kaminski
This week, Alex Lasry, who led the bid for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Milwaukee, spoke to the Downtown Rotarians about his experience and what this bid can mean for Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin. Alex was initially inspired to promote Milwaukee for the DNC bid after realizing that Milwaukee was never considered for the Amazon HQ2 location. He knew all that Milwaukee had to offer and believed that if we could bring people to the city and state, there would be positive downstream impacts for years to come.
The group hired the consultant who won the last two bids, submitted their RFP and did some grassroots work to highlight Milwaukee in Washington D.C. They made top three finalists (along with Miami and Houston), and then went on to raise double the amount of money for the convention than their competitors. Supporters from all political backgrounds came from all parts of the city, community and state to back the bid.
Alex’s main takeaway was that this is an opportunity not only for Milwaukee, but the entire State of Wisconsin. He believes that it is now our duty to develop opportunities and attractions to pull the 50,000 people coming to the convention over to Madison while they’re here. We can work together to provide venue space, attractions, lodging and more in effort to show off our community.
Alex believes that the measures for success are not around the DNC itself, but instead the impact the DNC has on the state’s economy years into the future. But in order to do that, we need to give people a reason to come back.
If you are interested in learning more, volunteering or registering a venue with the host committee, visit www.milwaukee2020.com.
If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch it here.
Andy and Dee J. Hall took turns Wednesday telling Rotarians about the mission and accomplishments of The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, the nonprofit and nonpartisan organization they co-founded in 2009. The Center’s three guiding principles are displayed prominently at the top of its website, WisconsinWatch.org: PROTECT THE VULNERABLE · EXPOSE WRONGDOING · EXPLORE SOLUTIONS. An independent media group such as theirs is necessary, the Halls argue, because traditional media outlets like newspapers are weakening and dwindling and “no news is bad news for our democracy.” The Center has won many awards for its rigorously fact-checked investigative journalism and is increasing the reach of its work through an extensive paid internship program. To date, 48 former interns and fellows have moved on throughout the country and the world using skills and insights they gained at the Center. The Halls cited stories from Wisconsin exposing human trafficking, inmates in solitary confinement (in one case 27 years in a cell the size of a parking space), and concerns about football concussions as examples of the kinds of investigations their Center can conduct free of pressure to make a profit.
Karen Menendez Coller, Centro Hispano of Dane County Executive Director, shared how recent policies affect the Latino community.
“Everything in Wisconsin’s dairy industry has changed!” That was the keynote hit by Daniel Smith, the president and CEO of the Cooperative Network, in a clear and well-organized talk to the club on Wednesday.
Conor Moran, the director of Wisconsin Book Festival, spoke to us today. Conor has been the director of the Festival for the last seven years, since it has been presented by the Madison Public Library and Foundation. He updated us on what has been happening with the Festival since his last appearance before us five years ago. The Festival has become a year-round event, which has made it more prominent among publishers, and they are now eager to participate. As a result, the Festival is able to attract some of the best authors of the most important books in the country, with many from the New York Times Best Sellers list. In addition, C-Span now programs the Festival.
Rotary Club of Madison, Wisconsin 