Baking Comfort for America’s Bravest 

Each Tuesday is a big day for Betty and Terrill Hulson, because they spend hours baking in their kitchen. Wednesday is an even bigger day, because they share their baked goods with America’s heroes, the military men and women flying in and out of Will Rogers World Airport. 

In 2007, the YMCA Military Welcome Center opened at the airport to provide a relaxing waiting area for military members. Betty began her weekly shift shortly after the center opened, not realizing that she was beginning a volunteer tradition that would continue for nearly twenty years. 

“It’s an honor to welcome these soldiers who serve our country. We have about 35,000 military visitors each year, which includes some veterans and family members–but about 85% of them are new recruits headed to Fort Sill for basic training,” Betty said. “They come from all over the world, and many of them are nervous about what they’ve signed up for. For some, it’s the first time they’ve ever flown.” 

Betty and the other volunteers offer snacks and encouraging conversation to help the service members feel more comfortable during their airport wait. “They’ll eat, play games, or play guitar,” Betty said. “We try to make the Vietnam veterans feel extra special, because they were not welcomed home after the war.” 

Betty decided it would be nice for the soldiers to have something homemade rather than just prepackaged food. “I baked a few dozen cookies, and they disappeared so fast that I committed to bringing them each week.” 

What started as two dozen cookies has grown into six dozen cookies each week. She is now known as “The Cookie Lady” at the airport. Betty’s cookies are so well received by visitors that her home refrigerator is covered with thank you notes about her “wonderful,” “delicious,” “incredible” cookies. 

“Did I mention that they are BIG cookies?” Betty asked. “They are four-inch cookies! My former boss called them ‘soldier-sized cookies.’ I make a dozen cookies with one batch of dough, not the 36 suggested by the recipe.” 

Every week, Betty makes chocolate chip cookies, and she has a rotation of different flavors each week: oatmeal raisin, peanut butter, snickerdoodles, and Scottish shortbread. “The Scottish shortbread are my favorites,” Betty said. “Although I could go the rest of my life without eating another cookie.” 

After all, she has baked over 65,000 cookies! 

Five years ago, Betty’s husband, Terrill, retired and became a volunteer at the Welcome Center, too. He decided his contribution would be brownies, so he now bakes two-and-a-half dozen each week. 

“My wonderful husband gets up early on Tuesday to make brownies. Then, he sets out all the ingredients I need, so I can start baking after he’s done,” Betty said. “Thankfully we have a big mixer and a double oven.” 

In 2025, Betty was nominated for the KFOR-TV’s Pay It 4ward program and received $400 dollars. “You can buy a lot of chocolate chips with four hundred dollars!” Betty said. “It costs about $1,300 a year for ingredients, but that’s not much when you consider the sacrifices these young people make to serve our country.” 

One of the thank you notes on the Hulson’s refrigerator summarizes the result of their baking labors: “The volunteers have been very kind to us all today. Without them, the last things we would have remembered before shipping out to basic or AIT training would be boredom, hunger, anxiety, and maybe even sleeping in an airport… We have one last good memory to look back on.” 

“That’s what motivates me to bake,” Betty said.