As part of our special Month of the Man features, BlackEnterprise.com caught up with Tiwa Works, consummate entrepreneur and president at Atlanta Greek Picnic Inc. On the heels of Atlanta Greek Picnic Weekend , one of the largest U.S. gatherings of black fraternity and sorority members, Works discussed how an idea turned into a profitable series of events; how his Nigerian heritage and frat membership plays a role in bridging the gap between black Americans and Africans; and how young black men can advance via entrepreneurial endeavors of their own.
BlackEnterprise.com: Atlanta Greek Picnic Weekend draws thousands of black college alumni and students to the city. How you were able to start the event?
Tiwa Works: My partners and I came up with idea that we wanted to have an event for fraternities and sororities in the summertime. … I’m a member of Kappa Alpha Psi —I attended Georgia Southwestern State University in Emericus, Georgia—and back in my early days I used to hang out with a lot of the Kappas at Morris Brown College for events including homecoming.
We came up with the idea of Atlanta Greek Picnic because the biggest history has been with the Philly Greek Picnic, which was big in the ’90s, and so we said, ‘Well let’s do one in Atlanta.’ And from then, we did the first event in 2004, and the response was tremendous. We just wanted to bring people together for a fun-filled weekend in Atlanta and surrounding areas.
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