The Duval County GOP held a press conference Friday morning, a day after the announcement that Jacksonville was selected as the host city to celebrate the renomination of President Donald J. Trump.
"It is a great day for everyone in Jacksonville, I just want to emphasize, it's a great day for everyone," said Dean Black, Chairman of the Republican Party of Duval County. "My heart is filled with joy because Jacksonville is going to host the Republican National Convention and it's a great day for our city."
Black said that the Duval County GOP has been advocating for this honor for a long time now and he's glad to see their efforts finally pay off.
But, he says, there is still more work to be done before the convention in August including the recruitment of "thousands and thousands" of volunteers.
He said the last RNC utilized about 7,000 volunteers and he expects this one to be no different.
If you want more information about volunteering you can sign up by clicking here: RNCVolunteer.com
Jacksonville Mayor Curry also made a brief statement and took questions Friday morning.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for the citizens of Jacksonville,” Curry said, also mentioning that this convention would be a great economic boost for businesses to get back on their feet after COVID-19 closures.
He said he's grateful to all people who made this happen and that it involved a lot of people behind scenes. Curry says even with numerous cities being considered for the convention, Jacksonville was able to come out on top.
Curry addressed concerns about the role of COVID-19 and how the city plans to navigate such large scale event as we come out of pandemic.
"We're going continue to act responsibly," he said. "We have over 25 testing locations in the city... Jacksonville has flattened the curve for weeks now."