Moose International has selected Milwaukee as the host city for its 2013 International Convention. The convention is expected to bring more than 7,000 delegates to the city and take up to 18,000 room nights.

William B. Airey, director general and chief executive officer of Moose International, said Milwaukee will make an ideal destination for the 2013 event. "We were impressed by the community's desire to host us, and the overall quality of the city's hospitality community,” Airey said. “We're very excited about bringing our members to Milwaukee for what will be the first time since 1944."

Moose International is a fraternal and service organization founded in 1888 with nearly 1.1 million men and women in roughly 1,800 Lodges and 1,600 Chapters throughout North America, including four Canadian provinces, as well as others in Great Britain and Bermuda.

"The community came together in a big way to win this significant convention for Milwaukee," said Brent Foerster, vice president of sales and marketing for VISIT Milwaukee.

The Moose organization supports the operation of Mooseheart Child City and School, a 1,000-acre community for children in need, located 40 miles west of Chicago; and Moosehaven, a 70-acre retirement community for members near Jacksonville, Fla. Moose Lodges and Chapters contribute approximately $75 million worth of community service (monetary and in-kind) annually.

Prior to 2013, the Moose International Convention will be held in Nashville in 2010; Anaheim, Calif., in 2011; and Orlando in 2012.