Recently we got a chance to catch up with Our Brother Terik Tidwell, a Family Dinner veteran. A New Jersey native, Terik was living in his home state back in 2008 when his old friend from high school, Lawrence, called him up to attend a dinner with some people in New York just to reconnect. Terik hopped over to New York for the night without hesitation. That first dinner was just an informal gathering for some young adults to reconnect during the post-college transition period.

Photos Courtesy of Our Brother Errol Dunlap

“Initially, I thought it was a great escape from NYC’s hustle and bustle grind. Growing up, my family always had dinner together. It was an opportunity to share thoughts, feelings, and sometimes history. So when I learned that “L” was going to be hosting something similar, I thought this was a great chance to build another family and deepen our connection, post-college.”

From that point on, Terik was hooked to the concept of Our Family Dinner, and continued to attend as Our Family Dinner began to evolve from an informal dinner in New York City to the international tradition that it is today. When the Dinner launched in Washington DC, Terik decided to attend with a friend from the area to support the launch of a new city. Fortunately, when he and his friend sat down to dinner at a table full of strangers, they all “just clicked”.

“Our table was awesome, we just happened to have a very interesting cast of people sitting together, and we all hit it off. I can’t tell you what all we talked about at that table, but I do remember that we really had a strong, fascinating conversation, to the point that our hosts almost had to kick us out of the restaurant at the end of the dinner. We kept our conversation going as we left the event, and everyone exchanged contact information with a promise to stay in touch.

“True to our word, a few weeks later, a couple of people from our group organized a brunch and our crew was reunited once again in DC. Through Family Dinner, our little group truly became friends and family, and months later I invited all of them to the NY dinner and they all came up. To this day I still keep in touch with several people from that one dinner in DC.”

Every time I come back to a dinner, I always feel like a just met a new cousin

“That dinner experience proved to me the power of Our Family Dinner. Every time I come back to a dinner, I always feel like I just met a new cousin. Most of the people share similar ideals, personally and professionally. I have built some great relationships. In fact, after moving to Denver, the first person visit was one of my brothers from the dinner. Family is what rejuvenates you, and every couple of months I need that fix. This is why I enjoy attending.”

Today, Terik is living in Denver and preparing for a move to Charlotte, NC in a few months. On a recent visit to Charlotte, Terik met a couple and started talking to them about Our Family Dinner, discussing its presence in Charlotte. Coincidentally, the couple had heard of the Dinner previously, but they weren’t aware that the Dinner was already in Charlotte. Terik confessed that it warmed his heart to see how far the vision of his old friend had spread throughout the country. “It’s amazing to see [Lawrence’s] spirit and his personality helping to affect hearts and bring people together all over the country”.