Last week, I shared that we proudly kicked off AME Mexico. This milestone was made possible through our incredible partnership with CSCMP Mexico, Tecnológico de Monterrey, our amazing friend and connector, Javier Zarazua, and the entire AME Mexico Board. They were the driving force behind the scenes, and we are deeply grateful for their partnership.
Javier invited several students to serve as masters of ceremonies at this event. Imagine being a college student and standing at the front of a room full of professionals, guiding the flow of a major event! That’s what Ayleen Gutierrez and Paulina Mariel Navarro, engineering students at the Tecnológico de Monterrey, courageously did. They stepped up, raised their hands and delivered with confidence and strength.
But here’s the thing: none of it would have happened if Javier hadn’t first raised his hand and said, “We need student voices, and I’ll help make that happen.” This reminded me of something I heard about the simple act of “putting your hand up.” It means stepping forward, volunteering and saying, “I’m here. I can help.” Javier, Aylee, Pauline, and all the speakers, board members and volunteers did this — what a success!
Since the Fourth of July is just around the corner, a day that celebrates courage, unity and community, I’m reaching out with a simple but powerful ask: Please “put your hand up.” There are so many opportunities to put your hand up and volunteer with the Association for Manufacturing Excellence. There’s a ripple effect when we step forward for others. It strengthens not only those we help but our community and ourselves. As we all have heard, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
I hope you’ve already put your hand up and registered for the AME St. Louis 2025 International Conference! It’s shaping up to be an incredible event. Register here.
Happy Fourth of July to our U.S.A. members and Happy Canada Day to our Canadian members.
As always, please stay safe and keep looking out for one another.
