Why BRAC revived its dinner series this year

This October, BRAC launched BTR Dinner―a revitalized version of Around the Table, a dinner series that promotes community and connection among Baton Rouge business leaders and community members. 

The first BTR Dinner, part of BRAC’s revived dinner series, took place on October 17—the first event of its kind since 2018. The format featured 12 dinner gatherings across various homes and businesses in Baton Rouge, with groups of 6 to 12 guests randomly assigned to each location. The evening included networking opportunities and activities led by local business leaders.

This year’s hosts represented a diverse range of industries in the city, including Anne Milneck, owner of Red Stick Spice Company; Christina Melton, executive director of Knock Knock Children’s Museum; Christy Reeves, vice president at Ochsner Health; Sarah Joy Hays, owner of CounterspaceBR; and Seth Irby, chief strategy officer at LWCC.

“We know that we’re losing young adult talent and millennials at a fast rate,” BRAC Director of Talent Development Maggi Spurlock says. “We’ve got multiple colleges and universities in our city and the opportunity for those students to get connected to the city is so important. How do we share with them what those opportunities in the city look like to help them with placemaking so they don’t think of Baton Rouge as just a place to go to school? The more events we have like this to support young adults in the city helps us keep that talent and diversity of experience and thought in our city, which helps our city grow.” 

BRAC plans to host two more BTR Dinner events in 2025, with recruitment for hosts and applications for the spring dinner starting in January or February.

“There are some amazing executives in our city that have a great story to tell that would be excellent hosts,” Spurlock says. “So if it’s something that they’re passionate about, helping people get connected to the city, they can reach out to us when we open up registration for hosts and participants. While we want people in homes, if you’ve got a boardroom or a conference room, you can host too.”