Visit Milwaukee’s 2026 Annual Meeting

Save the date! We are excited to announce that Visit Milwaukee's 2026 Annual Meeting will be taking place on Tuesday, March 3 at the Bradley Symphony Center! Please join us as we celebrate our collective wins from the past year and look forward to the future of tourism in Milwaukee. Multiple sponsorship opportunities will be available and tickets for the event will go on sale very soon -- stay tuned! Hope to see you there!

REGISTER TODAY!

Nominate Milwaukee’s Best

We want to honor those people, organizations and businesses that make this city and region so special. Submit a nomination for three key awards:

Dear MKE Award: recognizes a local Milwaukee person or small business that captured local fans' affection and drew national media attention to Milwaukee in 2025
Joe Bartolotta Hospitality Award: honors an individual in our hospitality industry who demonstrated exemplary commitment and passion for Milwaukee and its residents through community-uplifting initiatives in 2025
Heart of Milwaukee Award: celebrates a frontline worker, nominated by their employer, who went above and beyond to welcome visitors in 2025

Man in navy suit accepts award on stage

Past Winners

Dear MKE Award

2024 Dan Jacobs
2023 Milwaukee Public Library
2022 America’s Black Holocaust Museum
2021 Samer Ghani
2019 Foamation
2018 Glorioso’s
2017 John Dye for Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge
2016 Chef Justin Carlisle
2015 Theresa and Wade Nemetz

Milwaukee Magnet Award

2024: Baird Center expansion (Marty Brooks), Potawatomi renovation (Alexx & Dominic)
2023: USA Triathlon
2022: Milwaukee Bucks – NBA Champs (Peter Feigin)
2021: King BID & WCD Board
2019: Mayor Tom Barrett, County Executive Chris Abele, Governor Scott Walker, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald
2018: Northwestern Mutual
2017: Summerfest
2016: Potawatomi Hotel & Casino
2015: Mayor Tom Barrett & Milwaukee Common Council

Joe Bartolotta Hospitality Award