‘Nothing says lovin’ like something from the oven!’

Written by SUSAN MAYER DAVIS  |  Photos courtesy of COWETA LOVIN’

There’s a specialness to Coweta County that many of us sense in our daily lives, even if we can’t quite put a finger on it.

To many, it’s a sense of caring, of being appreciated and welcomed. There are many organizations in our community that exemplify this loving attitude in thoughts, words and deeds. One of them even has “lovin’” in its name: Coweta Lovin’.

A grassroots effort, the local group is not a church organization, although many members are churchgoers from a variety of backgrounds.

The group is not a registered nonprofit, although they certainly make no profit from their good deeds.

All members volunteer their time, effort and contributions, although none of them are required to attend meetings or take part in any particular project.

However, when a project is announced on social media by Beverley Ramirez, the group’s organizer and unofficial leader, there’s typically plenty of response from volunteers.

With more than 400 members on the roster, Coweta Lovin’ gets things done with big help from its core group, which includes Joanie Clepper, Jill Springer, Rhonda Adams and Vicky Palmer, according to Ramirez.

So, the name “Coweta Lovin’” is cute, but how did it come to be?

The idea came alive for Ramirez, the wife of a firefighter, in 2002 during the one-year anniversary of 9-11. She was concerned for firefighters who would mourn their fallen brothers and sisters who perished in the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks.

While thinking that these brave souls needed “a little lovin’ on,” as we say in the South, she came up with the homespun idea of baking a batch of brownies and buying a gallon of milk to take to County 4 fire station in Moreland where her husband Sonny worked. It was an instant success.

This continued for almost two decades. And then, in 2021, Ramirez asked others if they would like to bake brownies for all 16 county fire stations and the four city stations. The response was inspiring, and soon the project snowballed to include goodies for more than 1,000 police officers and other public service workers. 

The brownie tradition continues annually each fall, and Coweta Lovin’ also takes packs of cookies to local Veterans clubs and other military groups. Leftovers are frozen and sent to active duty members of the Armed Forces, according to Ramirez.

Coweta Lovin’ members are mostly women with a few men who love to bake on the list, so it’s no wonder that the group’s favorite and most successful fundraisers are bake sales. Money from the sales helps within the community, like in 2021 when funds were used to help those devastated by the spring EF-4 tornado.

Upcoming projects include raising money to expand a graveyard for service dogs, a project aimed at benefiting all local police and sheriff’s officers, the annual 9-11 delivery of cookies and brownies to Coweta’s civil servants, and a Veterans Day event.

Not all of their projects are aimed at public organizations, however. When one of the members learned of a neighbor with cancer who needed help, the group gathered assistance of all kinds for her and her family.

“We take this ‘loving’ thing seriously,” says Ramirez. “We want this to be a county where we care for one another in any way we can. There are some women who love to bake for others but can’t afford the ingredients, so we make sure they have what they need to participate. We have all ages participating and always welcome more.”

Ramirez says she’d like to see the popularity of bake sales revived.

“There are fundraisers that just about anyone can support either by baking or buying the delicious products,” she says. “Everyone wins.”

To join Coweta Lovin’ or support their efforts, join their Facebook page. NCM