Words of wisdom
A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO, SALVADOR ESCALONA.
Dear Mexilink Family,
For a long time, Kodak’s slogan was “Recordar es Volver a Vivir” which means “To remember is to live again.” Unfortunately, technology has made physical photo albums disappear, and now everything is digital. How wonderful it was when, as children, we would take a trip and then open those albums, looking at each photo and feeling as if we were there again.
That is exactly what we wanted to achieve with our MXL Link it Vegas Edition: to relive that unforgettable event together. Our mission was to get to know each other better, strengthen our bonds, and return more motivated than ever to face the important challenge we have decided to take on together. And we did it! Mission accomplished
Now, let’s come together once more to remember those unforgettable days. Let each image and each word of this edition fill us with renewed motivation and drive us forward with greater strength and unity.
Let’s cherish these memories, draw inspiration from them, and use this collective energy to conquer new heights. A SUBIR la Organización. Together, we can achieve anything we set our minds to. Let’s keep the spirit alive and continue to build on the incredible foundation we’ve created.
And contrary to the saying “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” our memories of that trip come with us, and we relive them with great joy.
Salvador Escalona
Mexilink´s biggest get-together
A glimpse at the unforgettable Vegas trip for the first MXL Month!
Las Vegas is one of the most famous cities in the world. Commonly known as the entertainment capital of the world, it is also recognized as the perfect spot for social gatherings: family, friends, or a company get-together. Last month, Mexilinkers from all around the States and México, came together for a chance to meet in person with the people they work with every day. Including the addition of members of our beloved brands, such as Tajin, Saba, and Zambos, Sabormex, who are also part of the family, 233 people made it to Sin City for the biggest event Mexilink has ever held.
This is a very special edition of Link-It! in which we´ll show you all about the process, and the planning, but especially, the pictures of the event as well as a few other surprises. We had fun in Vegas and throughout the creation of this edition, so we hope you´ll enjoy it as well!
Vegas in the making
It was the end of March when a few people in charge of the event planning got the news: Mexilink would be hosting a get-together for the whole company! The message coming from Salvador Escalona, our CEO, and Elisa Kutugata, the head of MXL You, was clearthis was not a convention, but rather an opportunity to connect, to receive a gift as employees for our hard work, dedication, and team spirit, which are crucial for the growth of the company.
For the following months, the team in charge of organizing the event carried out dozens of tasks
including quoting flights, lodging accommodations, transportation, meals, booking of a conference room for all presentations and activities planned, audio and video, photographer and videographer, the party at OMNIA as well as catering, among others.
While you were working regularly, without any clue that in a few months, you´d be meeting dozens of colleagues, partying, and experiencing the scorching heat with them, the planning team was putting up a masterplan, which in case you are wondering why you found out about the trip until May, you should know this was highly classified information, or else the key element could be lost - the element of surprise!
After weeks of consideration, May 13th was the date chosen to reveal to all Mexilinkers, through a super cool video, about the grand event. Seeing everyone´s reaction was, already, making all the planning efforts so much worth it. All attendees were requested to fill out a form due on Sunday, May 19th. The trip, was exactly 1 month and 6 days away, but as they say, teamwork makes the dream work, and the rest is history…
WELCOME TO MXL VEGAS 2024. WELCOME TO MXL YOU. WELCOME TO MXL CONNECT. THE POINT OF ALL THIS IS FOR EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER, TO CONNECT AMONGST OURSELVES, AND TO HAVE FUN.
Let´s started!get
Have you ever had that feeling of excitement and rush when you are about to travel? Especially when deep inside, you know what it means to you… for many, it was their first time in the US, for others their first time in Vegas, but for all, it was the long-awaited moment in which they could finally be face-toface with those with whom they have shared countless Teams meetings and probably thousands of emails. Time flew by from May to June, until the day finally arrived!
From 9 am to the afternoon of the 26th, Mexilinkers from West to East, North to South, and Mexican cities, arrived from a total of 34 different airports. For most of them, the MXL You team made sure to make them feel welcomed, patiently waiting for them with a sign and taking them to one of the many shuttles running back and forth to the hotel.
As the bus was getting closer to the Paris hotel, the focus turned to the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and in the back, the majestic structure that holds almost 3000 rooms. The emotions in the air by now were much stronger than the suffocating heat of Las Vegas. Once the shuttle was unloaded, we opened the doors and voilà! A gorgeous entrance that took you to the sky, literally. Next up, a bright and glamorous lobby! Can this get any better?
In the afternoon, there was a bit of time to rest, or as most did, go out and start exploring Vegas! At night, the official start of the event! We reviewed the rules, expense guidelines, as well as the itinerary. The team also handed over the Welcome Kits (recovery kit, stickers, badge, and shirts) and to the voice of Elisa, the celebration had begun.
This is what we came for
Wednesday Connect Day
Wednesday morning was one for the books! To kick off, attendees were asked to sit randomly at the tables at the back of the room. Then, one by one, each department was called out, so its members sat together. A special shoutout was given to the merchandisers, who sat in front, and who pretty much covered almost three entire rows. Salvador walked everyone through the story of Mexilink, and as tradition, called Frank, COO, to join him for a while. In a very special moment, they looked through a room packed with Mexilinkers, on the 26th floor of The Paris in Las Vegas. It felt like at the same time it hit them, it also hit everyone as well: the feeling of pride when being part of such a growing, diverse, and close family; the outstanding growth of Mexilink, and the love and passion everyone works with every day.
Later that day, one of the best and most exceptional memories took place: Salvador presenting each department. With a very remarkable, funny, but always unique way of introducing them all. The departments stood up in front of the whole company and received a round of applause. Normally, you´d think he only presented people from Mexilink. But not him. Not in Mexilink. People from different brands and different positions were included in this as well. The message was, is, and will always be the same in Mexilink: We are all in this together. We are family.
With this came a powerful moment. The CEO, as he had repeatedly mentioned to the MXL You team, wanted to give a special moment to all merchandisers. He came up with a huge shoutout to every single one of them. They were described as warriors and he talked about the importance of their daily activities. He didn´t even need to ask as everyone in the company stood up right away and gave them a 5-minute standing ovation. WOW. Powerful, because then you experience firsthand the core values of MXL You:
Motivation is never missed within Mexilink. The story of Mexilink represented the Where were we? How it all started; with the presentation of each department came the present: Who are we now? Our role in the company, but with Salvador´s last presentation we went through the Where are we headed? The future. He talked about the challenges the company had faced and the challenges ahead that all Mexilinkers will manage to face together.
After a first-class lunch buffet, it was time for the activities, which rocked! People were seated randomly according to their wristband´s color, which was provided by the MXL You team. For a timed period, everyone talked and shared opinions about different topics and questions, but the most important conclusion is that all of us had so much fun getting to know each other!
And what´s a better way to conclude our connection activities than with a group picture!
Las Vegas
Party Linkers!
Dear reader, hoping you’ve enjoyed reading about our activities and presentations, but please beware, the next part of this article is now headed to the PARTY element of our event. And as they say, a little party never killed anybody…
The night was still young, and we all couldn’t wait for the party buses to start their tour!
Now, do you remember there were 233 Mexilinkers in Vegas? Well, the team had to manage the rental of 8 PARTY BUSES for everyone! If you asked any person in Vegas what was the sensation at the time, they would all say MEXILINK! Why? Because we partied as soon as we got on the buses. For our first stop, we went to the Las Vegas sign and then ventured into Fremont Street.
The lights and the music turned the moment into magic but having different buses making stops there at the same time and meeting everyone in the middle of it… was poetry. Everything was so perfect, and everybody was having such an incredible time, that we even rented them out for an extra hour!
The non-stop dancing and the connecting with colleagues and friends, as well as everyone´s incredible singing skills made up for an unforgettable time!
Thursday morning. Blue jeans (yes, Lana del Rey quote) and the blue MXL You shirt were the requested outfits. Some folks showed up at Skyview 25 & 26 to check on emails, take calls/meetings or simply hang out for a bit. Others went out for breakfast and, like adventurers, toured through the city. No matter what they did earlier, they all had their minds set in one place: OMNIA was waiting. Honestly, everyone looked AMAZING!
Amazing!
The dresses, the suits, but above all, the masks made this party something spectacular! Everyone was so creative! Shoutout to Kerstin for winning the mask contest. After the mask contest, Elisa told us to take off our masks, to look at each other’s faces, because WE, all of us, are Mexilink!
But that was not all, we had one more surprise in store – The MXL You team had prepared a video of what we’ve done this past year and what’s there to come. This was an amazing way of showing us how when we come together, we can move mountains!
Celebrated!
We ate, drank, danced, and we sang off the top of our lungs. We CELEBRATED! And with that, the ball commemorated the end of the event.
We will all have a different favorite memory, but the most incredible thing is that everyone got to know each other better, and most importantly, many met their colleagues for the first time! The smiles, the laughs, and the everlasting memories made this trip worth it.
