The theme of this year’s networking event was “confidence” and it was a key message of Cross’ talk.

Cross is an internationally known speaker and the president of Stand Tall, a company that helps build confidence. She works with leaders at all levels within an organization and runs a CEO peer advisory group in the Twin Cities.

Many of those in attendance came together as friends or co-workers, however, once the program started, attendees were assigned different seats to force them to mix and mingle.

Each table had the banquet hall was tabled with a synonym of “confidence.” At the mixed tables, women took part in networking activities and games. The idea was to get everyone out of their comfort zones during the program.

As a team building expercise, each table at Women’s Networking event were given a box full of items and seven minutes to build a model car. The women at table 17 took the bold strategy of using the actual box the parts came in as the vehicle frame. L to R: Sarah Kem, Sara Bode, Char Reinhart-Kalk and Ashley Boyum.

Cross was the main speaker of the night. She opened by asking all the women in attendance to stand up straight and put their shoulders back.

She said this was something her mother said to her often, but when she was young she did not understand the value of it.

“At 12, I was 6′ 1” and it was the last thing I wanted to do,” she said. However, once she got older and started following the advice, she realized standing up straight gave her confidence, even if she did not feel it. By acting confident, she gains confidence. This was her first piece of advice; to take action before confidence.

She compared it to driving. When learning to drive, you may not have confidence but you take action and learn what to do when behind a wheel. Over time you gain confidence in driving without thinking.

“Confidence is something you need always need to work on,” Cross said admitting she too had to work on her confidence sometimes.

Mary Ellen Domeier introduces Lorie Jewell to Kathy Van Roekel during New Ulm Women’s Networking event.

When she was younger, Cross said she was an observer. She did not like to speak up because it felt safer. She never got in trouble by not speaking. However, later in life, she realized being an observer did not always work. She needed to develop the confidence to speak up.

Cross asked the room full of women what “confidence” meant to them. Several answers were given, including “comfortability,” “knowledge,” “positivity,” “authenticity” and “hutzpah.”

Cross said these were all great answers but said in all her years of asking people to define confidence, no one had ever said “perfection.”

“Confidence does not mean perfection,” she said. Understanding this is one of the greatest obstacles. She said many people think that when speaking in public they worry about being perfect, but in reality, no one is expecting perfection.

She stressed the importance of speaking up and expressing ideas because “ideas and words can change the world.”

Cross closed the talk by telling a story of a kid’s track meet she attended. She remembered seeing one student trip over a hurdle and fall down. The student was hurt and did not complete the race. Later another student tripped over the hurdle and fell down, however, she got back up and completed the race. “When we fall on our face do we get up and keep going,” Cross asked. “I propose we all get back up and tear down that field.”

Around 100 women attended this year’s networking event. After a decade it remains a popular draw. New Ulm Chamber CEO and Networking Committee member Sarah Warmka said the women’s networking event remains popular there is a demand for it in the area. The Networking event brings in women not only from New Ulm but some of the surrounding communities. Warmka said they were also fortunate to get high-caliber speakers like Cross.

Mary Ellen Domeier has attended the women’s networking event since the beginning. This year she brought along Lorie Jewell, State Street Theater’s new Executive Director to introduce her to the community.

Domeier believed Heels & All was a valuable networking event because women have many shared experiences. The event was to share in that sisterhood.