Wisconsin Herd tips off Women's History Month with empowerment event in Oshkosh

Justin Marville, Oshkosh Northwestern
·2 min read

OSHKOSH ― Women’s History Month couldn’t have asked for a better tipoff.

The Wisconsin HER Day event is quickly making its mark on women’s empowerment after more than 225 women participated in the Wisconsin Herd’s all-day experience on Saturday at the Oshkosh Arena.

Sponsored by BMO, the day featured a series of free programming from women’s empowerment organization, We EmpowHER, including speaker presentations, vendor booths and networking opportunities.

“The turnout has just been phenomenal and that’s great because we serve women from all walks of life, so we want to make sure women who are CEOs to those who don’t have anything get sisterhood and relatability through this,” said We EmpowHER executive director and founder Theresa Menting.

“We had many women who said this was so awesome that they were able to do a day of conferences and learning and education without having to pay for it. Many of them felt they were able to connect with other women and network, whether it was personal development or professional development,” she added.

Motivational speaker Ali Starr talking to a section of the crowd March 2, 2024, at the Wisconsin HER Day event. The event drew 225 participants to the Oshkosh Arena.
Motivational speaker Ali Starr talking to a section of the crowd March 2, 2024, at the Wisconsin HER Day event. The event drew 225 participants to the Oshkosh Arena.

It was the common sentiment echoed across the arena, as patrons got the chance to listen to motivational speaker Ali Starr talk about quieting the negative voice within and instilling confidence in young girls.

Attendees also broke into smaller groups led by professionals dealing with key areas such as self-discovery, productivity, women in business and family after visiting vendor booths during a networking session in the Herd’s concourse area.

“I’m amazed by it because as a woman who has spent most of her career in a field that is predominantly male being empowered and being able to communicate and network with women who are similarly situated and share the same stories is amazing,” said Oshkosh common council member LaKeisha Haase.

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The second annual event was just a part of the Herd’s recognition of Women’s History Month, which started on Friday with their Women in Sports panel.

The team changed its name to Wisconsin HER for Saturday’s game that saw the players wear specialized purple jerseys, which were auctioned off to benefit We EmpowHER.

“Being a woman in sports myself it means a lot to have this day and game centered around women’s empowerment and the response we’ve gotten is so amazing,” said the Herd’s communications coordinator Jamie Winsted.

“We just really love working with We EmpowHER and our sponsor BMO, so we want this to keep getting bigger because this group does as amazing job and we’ve been able to get so many women here participating.”

The Herd was awarded G League Franchise of the Year last season partly due to efforts like this, and its “Be the Light” Black History Month promotion, which was also adjudged the Promotion of the Year.

Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Wisconsin HER Day event brings more than 225 women to Oshkosh Arena