This year’s Annual Meeting of the Griffin Neighborhood Association will feature two keynote speakers. Newly-elected Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders and Griffin Fire Department Chief Corey Rux will speak on the topic of safety in our community.

The Annual Meeting is also when members of the Griffin Neighborhood Association nominate and vote on Board members. If you are not yet a member or if your membership has lapsed, you may join us online by clicking this link. You may also join at the meeting.

Doors open at 6 PM and light refreshments will be available.

Board elections are at 6:30 PM.

The presentation by Sheriff Sanders and Chief Rux begins at 7 PM.

Annual Meeting
January 25, 6 PM
Griffin Fire Department Headquarters
3707 Steamboat Loop NW, Olympia, WA 98502

Everyone is welcome!

We have vacant positions on our Board. If you or someone you know is interested in serving on the Board of the Griffin Neighborhood Association, this Board Member FAQ may answer some questions about what it means to serve on the Board. Any person owning property or residing within the Griffin area is eligible to become a member of the Griffin Neighborhood Association. During the Annual Meeting we will take nominations and elect members to our Board.

At the Annual Meeting, the GNA will be collecting the following items for the St. Christopher’s satellite food bank:
• Toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, napkins
• Laundry detergent
• Toothpaste, toothbrush, dental floss
• Soap, shampoo
• Diapers, baby wipes
• Feminine care products
• Deodorant, lip balm

Please consider a generous contribution to our local satellite of the Thurston County Food Bank.

Do you represent a non-profit organization operating in the Griffin area? If you would like to set up an informational table at our Annual Meeting, contact Becky Reavis at furacres@gmail.com.

For more information about the Griffin Fire Department, see their website at www.griffinfd.org

For more information about the Thurston County Sheriff’s Department, see their website at thurstoncountywa.gov/sheriff

This Sunday evening, much of Steamboat Square will be turned into a Trunk or Treat Village as local residents turn out to offer a family-friendly Halloween event. This Sunday is looking to be a bit wet but that won’t deter us! This will be a walk-through event for the kids. You can park behind the Square, by the Urraco Coffee Company, or across 33rd Ave NW in the Griffin School parking lot. Much of Steamboat Square will be blocked off from cars (the yellow lines on the map below indicate barricades).

More than 20 trunks are expected and there is a prize for the best display.

Candy donations can be dropped off at the Griffin Fire Department Headquarters through Friday morning. We are planning a fun time and hope you all will join us!

Trunk or Treat
Sunday, October 30, 4 PM to 7 PM
Steamboat Square, 6541 Sexton Dr. NW

Click the image to see a larger version.

We recognize the challenges that have been faced by all of us over the past few years. Part of the mission of the Griffin Neighborhood Association (GNA) is to help remind us that we are a community and what a wonderful place this is to live. During Covid we all did our best to help each other, recognizing the first responders, and all the others that were out on the front lines working.

We would like to keep that going and this year the GNA is starting a Hometown Hero program. In the month of November, while many of us are getting ready to give thanks, the GNA will be selecting the top nominees to appear at an award ceremony, held at the Prosperity Grange on November 12th to receive their awards and a token of our appreciation.

Through November 5th, 2022, Griffin Neighborhood Association will be accepting Hero nominations. To qualify, the person should be a resident of the area or work in the area, and have demonstrated the qualities below:

• An inspiring example to others by helping make the Steamboat Area a better place to live through volunteerism, extra-curricular activities, special projects, giving back, etc.
• Going above and beyond to aid a friend, family member, stranger, or community in a time of need.
• Love of profession and desire, determination, and diligence to help outside of normal job responsibilities.

Nominate your Hometown Hero today by filling out the form below. Please let us know why this person should be a Hometown Hero and list the qualities that make this person stand out in our community.

Nominations for Hometown Heroes are now closed. Join us for our recognition event Saturday, November 12th, at Prosperity Grange, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

On Saturday, June 4 the Griffin Neighborhood Association will hold a garage sale at Companion Cove. All proceeds will go towards this year’s GNA events.

Saturday, June 4
10 AM to 3 PM
Companion Cove
6644 Sexton Dr NW, Olympia, WA 98502

Each year the GNA organizes or works with other organizations to organize a variety of events here on the Steamboat Peninsula. Among these are community meetings, holiday events, a summer picnic, and more. Come and see what treasures you might find at our garage sale and your purchase will help us to host upcoming events.

Thanks to generous contributions from three local businesses, the Griffin Neighborhood Association is once again able to distribute the iconic, oval “Steamboat Neighborhood” stickers free to area residents. Soon you will be able to pick up your sticker at businesses such as Companion Cove, the Island Market, Steamboat Island Coffee Shop, Urraco Coffee Company, Tipsy Whale, Our Community Credit Union (Steamboat Peninsula branch), the Griffin Fire Department Headquarters, and more.

These stickers are provided at no cost to the Association because of the support from these local businesses:

Our Community Credit Union

At OCCU you’ll find a variety of financial services including checking and savings accounts, personal loans, auto and RV loans, home improvement and land loans, financial education, online banking services, and more. Find out why OCCU says, “We’re community strong since 1941.”

Missy Watts, Realtor®, of Watts Property Group

When it comes to your real estate needs, the most important decision you will make is which broker to choose. Local resident Missy Watts has received the prestigious “Certified Residential Specialist (CRS)” designation, which only 5% of all Realtors have obtained. She has a deep familiarity with this region and she heads up an experienced and aggressive team of real estate experts.

“Having a broker in your corner who understands the area ensures that you will love where you live.”

Steamboat Tennis and Athletic Club

With the recent announcement that they’ll be opening a new fitness facility, STAC truly has become “your one-stop health and fitness solution.” They already offer a wide range of adult and junior tennis classes, private and group tennis lessons, and tennis events. Their new fitness facility will feature a training floor with strength and aerobic equipment, an indoor saltwater pool with 3 lanes for lap swimming, group fitness classes including yoga and spin, personal training, and much more.

Our Steamboat Neighborhood stickers have been seen on cars, trucks, boats, laptops. . . you name it. We’ve heard of area residents “finding” one another by spotting these stickers while traveling out of state.

Over the next week or so, GNA volunteers will be working to deliver supplies of these stickers to local businesses. Get your sticker while you support the businesses operating here in our neighborhood.

Read more about the history of the distinctive Steamboat Neighborhood sticker on our website.

Powered by South Sound IT

Jim Hutchins, a long-time supporter of our neighborhood and the Griffin Neighborhood Association, has announced his retirement. Over the years, many of us have relied upon Jim and his company, South Sound IT, to provide a variety of technology services meeting our business and personal technology needs. All of us at the GNA wish Jim the very best as he moves on to write the next chapter of his life with his wife, Meredith Hutchins. Meredith, of course, has served for many years as one of the three members of the Board of Fire Commissioners at the Griffin Fire Department. Jim and Meredith are avid world travelers, and we hope this announcement will portend many more adventures for the two of them.

For a number of years, Jim and South Sound IT have donated hosting services for this website to the GNA. This is no minor feat as the Association has operated online since 2003. A website that started using Microsoft FrontPage was ushered into WordPress maturity thanks to Jim’s generous donation beginning many years ago. We will be looking for a new WordPress host but it’s unlikely we’ll find another benefactor who has been as giving as Jim, to the Association and its webmaster.

It is possible, around April 12th, that we’ll go dark here. Between now and that date, we will be looking for alternative hosting arrangements. If we’re successful there will probably be only a relatively short interruption as we set up shop in the new location. However, if we cannot find another host for our WordPress site, you will continue to find us on Facebook, Twitter, a little on Instagram, and on Nextdoor. Email services will continue. Eventually, we’re sure to find a new home and we’ll bring our archive of years of online history back to the Internet.

Thank you, Jim Hutchins and South Sound IT, for your support of the GNA over many years. You will be missed here in cyberspace but we hope to continue to see you, hereabouts in the real world, for many years to come.

The Griffin Neighborhood Association will host its Annual Community Meeting Thursday, January 27, 6 PM to 8:30 PM at the Griffin Fire Department Headquarters.

This year’s keynote speakers will be Laura Westrup and Marcia Justis from the Master Gardener Foundation of Thurston County and Joan Thomas from the Native Plant Salvage Foundation. The topic is ‘Gardening in the PNW‘ (or ‘What is that Growing in my Yard?’) and is sure to answer a lot of the questions we all have about the beautiful plants growing around us!

Thursday, January 27
6 PM to 8:30 PM
Griffin Fire Department Headquarters

The GNA will hold its annual election at 6:30 pm and the keynote will start at 7 pm.

Please Note: Due to Covid restrictions we will not be serving any refreshments and we do ask that everyone wear masks to the event.

Everyone is welcome!

Here are links to a variety of resources related to this year’s keynote speakers:
Washington State Native Plant Society
How to Determine Your Garden Microclimate
Thurston Conservation District soil testing
Great Plant Picks
Swanson Nursery
Territorial Seed Company
Mother Earth News
Insect Pests and Noxious Weeds
Gardening in Washington State

Click image for a larger version.

Join the Griffin Neighborhood Association and the Griffin PTO at this year’s Trunk or Treat!

Sunday, October 31
4 PM to 7 PM
Griffin Elementary School Parking Lot

Please remain in your vehicle.
Social distancing will be observed.
Best trunk prize.

Donations of bagged candy are needed by October 28th. Drop-off boxes are located at the Griffin School, Griffin Fire Station, and Companion Cove.

Trunks Wanted! If interested, contact Becky at furacres@gmail.com.