Born from military isolation, Newnan's Chatty Women group grows to 3,100 members

When Renea Lynn Carl's husband deployed and she found herself in Newnan without the network of army wives she'd always relied on, she did what military spouses learn to do: she improvised. The result is now closing in on 3,100 members.

My husband was in the army for 21 years. Army wives found out if they were going from one duty to the next and more information through online groups. When we moved here in 2006, he was pretty much gone all the time. He was deployed. This is the first time I wasn't surrounded by army wives. I thought we needed a group like that here.— Renea Lynn Carl, founder of Chatty Newnan Women

Carl didn't start on Facebook. She launched the group on Yahoo — before Facebook became mainstream, she says — and the early idea was practical and small: meet someone, make plans, grab a coffee, catch a movie.

This is before Facebook got real popular. Probably about six years ago or longer, I started the chatty group on Yahoo. It started out that if I met somebody we would make plans, we go out to a movie or plan to grab a coffee. The group kept growing and growing.— Renea Lynn Carl, founder of Chatty Newnan Women

Growth brought problems. Once the group hit 1,000 members, spam requests flooded in from around the world. Carl moved the community to Facebook and tightened the rules: new members must be added by an existing member and approved, advertising is capped at once per month, and attacking other members is grounds for removal.

Once we hit 1,000 members, we were getting spam from all over the world for people to be added. I just wanted to create something that was for the women. If they were new here, many women had questions like where to find a plumber or where to go to order flowers. It's turned into that and every now and then it gets a little crazy and when it does, we usually delete the members causing problems. In general, for the most part it is a calm environment.— Renea Lynn Carl, founder of Chatty Newnan Women

The advertising rule in particular reflects Carl's philosophy. Most local Facebook groups, she says, become little more than sales pitches. She wanted something different.

We do not allow advertising. It is limited to one time per month, because in the majority of the Facebook groups, that's all it is is people trying to sell whatever they're selling. I didn't want it to be that. I wanted it to be for people to make friends and gather information. I've met some of the greatest people I've ever known through this group.— Renea Lynn Carl, founder of Chatty Newnan Women

The group's reach has translated into tangible community action. According to Carl, members have reunited families with lost pets, provided Thanksgiving meals for families in need, rallied around a member who lost everything in a house fire, and even helped locate a stolen car.

Managing nearly 3,100 members is no longer a one-person job. Carl says she has recently added administrators to help monitor the group around the clock. A meet-and-greet event is in the works to bring the online community together in person.

We're closing in on 3,100. I didn't expect it to grow this big; it started as a small group of friends that would make plans. I don't think there's a limit of how many we can have in the group. I'll let it keep growing as long as it keeps going.— Renea Lynn Carl, founder of Chatty Newnan Women

The Chatty Women model has spread beyond Newnan. A sister group, Chatty LaGrange Women, has partnered with local organizations on community projects — including a window-painting and gift drive at LaGrange Nursing and Rehab during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to lagrangenews.com. Women in Coweta County who want to join the Newnan group need to find a current member willing to add them; admission is by approval.

Why it matters — For women new to Coweta County or simply looking for local connection, Chatty Newnan Women is a ready-made community — and understanding how it works and how to join is practically useful.

Reported by times-herald.com, chattynewnan.com, newnancowetachamber.org, wrbl.com, lagrangenews.com