Who is the Griffin Neighborhood Association?

The Griffin Neighborhood Association (GNA) is registered with the State of Washington as a non-profit organization. We are a nonpartisan group of neighbors living within the boundaries of the Griffin School District, Thurston County, Washington.

Any person owning property, a business, or residing in the Griffin area is eligible to become a member and participate fully in the Association. Membership is also open to community groups and students of the Griffin School District. If you live or work in the Griffin neighborhood or Steamboat Peninsula, the Griffin Neighborhood Association is you.

Originally organized as the Oyster Bay Neighborhood Association in 1990, we were registered with the State of Washington as the nonprofit Griffin Neighborhood Association in December, 1995.

Our Mission

The mission of the Griffin Neighborhood Association is to help build community consensus on major issues confronting the Griffin area, including growth, land issues, habitat, water quality, transportation and school planning. When appropriate, we research issues as honest brokers of information, provide forums for debate, attempt to arrive at community consensus and issue resolution, and present this consensus to appropriate decision makers.

The Griffin Neighborhood Association also undertakes and supports projects that benefit our community, help to build a sense of community, and educate the community on topics of interest.

Our Board and Officers

Our Board is comprised of current members of the Association, elected by members of the Association present at the Annual Meeting. Officers are elected from Board membership by members of the Board.

The Board typically sets an annual schedule of regular meetings. Tentative meeting dates, times and locations are posted on our Facebook Page and on Nextdoor.

HMS Off The Hook is the Griffin Area’s Deli and Specialty Grocery Store

HMS Off The Hook advertises itself as offering “premium meats and more.” Visit their location at 6541 Sexton Drive NW, in Steamboat Square, and you’ll find a lot more. True, they offer an excellent selection of prime beef, pork, and chicken. But they also offer cheeses, wine, crackers, and a variety of grab-and-go prepared meals. Pizza, soup, salads, sauces, desserts, and much, much more, means HMS Off The Hook is the neighborhood deli and specialty grocery store here on the Steamboat Peninsula.

“Looking for a quick and delicious meal on the go? Our fresh, grab-n-go options are designed to satisfy your cravings while keeping your schedule on track.” Follow HMS Off The Hook on Facebook, where you’ll find they often post specials and prepared meal items available for a limited time.

One surprising item they have on offer is Xinh’s cookbooks. Many of us remember her famous restaurant in Shelton. If you like to cook, you’ll want one of these cookbooks on your shelf.

Since 1960, Home Meat Service has been providing products in and around Shelton. HMS Off The Hook is their retail location here in northwest Thurston County.

HMS Off The Hook is among the local businesses whose generous contribution recently allowed the Griffin Neighborhood Association to purchase more of the Steamboat Neighborhood stickers for free distribution to area residents. We hope you will stop by HMS Off The Hook soon and shop. When you do, thank them for their support.

Yes, they have meats, but they offer much more.

Steamboat Square is a Growing Business Core in NW Thurston County

Steamboat Square has long provided a business core for the Steamboat Peninsula/Griffin area. In recent years, the Square has been on-the-grow, and it now offers an increasing variety of services and dining establishments. The Square has also hosted community events, including the Halloween Trunk or Treat and a Block Party.

Steamboat Square is a blossoming area with many great small businesses and local shops to attract locals, visitors, and people passing through! Steamboat Square has quite a variety to meet your various needs, from coffee to chiropractic, to salons and food – we offer it all! We are also currently leasing a few buildings and looking to add a family medical office, dentist, or physical therapist. We are so happy to host these wonderful businesses for such a special community!

Located just off US-101, Steamboat Square is the front door to the Peninsula. With space available to lease now and two more buildings available this summer, this may be the perfect fit for your business needs.

Steamboat Square is already home to Board & Brush Creative Studio, Elevate Hair & Skin, Steamboat Health & Wellness, Our Community Credit Union, Urraco Coffee, HMS Off-the-Hook, Tipsy Whale Mercantile, the newly-opened Red Velvet Bakery By the Sea, and more. Click here for a list of all the businesses currently located in the Square.

Steamboat Square is one of four local businesses whose recent contributions have enabled the Griffin Neighborhood Association to purchase the distinctive Steamboat Neighborhood stickers for free distribution. We hope you’ll visit a Steamboat Square business soon and pick up a sticker for your car, truck, or boat.

Board & Brush Creative Studio for Your Next Event

Click the image for a larger version

Generous contributions from Board & Brush Creative Studio and three other local businesses have made it possible for the Griffin Neighborhood Association to purchase “Steamboat Neighborhood” stickers for distribution to local residents. Board & Brush is located in the Steamboat Square, 6541 Sexton Dr., Bldg H, Suite 101.

Are you looking for a night out with friends? Is your inner DIY itching for a fun new project without having to buy all your own supplies and make a mess at your house? Then BOOK A WORKSHOP for the ultimate paint and sip experience at Board & Brush Creative Studio in Olympia.

You may already know that Board & Brush is a terrific place to host a variety of events including birthday parties, bachelorette parties, and baby showers. But have you considered Board & Brush as a venue for your office’s next Team Building event?

Here at Board and Brush Creative Studio in Olympia, we specialize in bringing people together in the art of wood crafting. We have workshops that guests can register for where they pick from our large variety of wood designs to create something unique for their home or to give as a special gift. We host all types of events, Baby Showers, Birthdays, Bachelorette parties, and one of our more popular, Team Building. We have put many Team Building workshops together so your team can have a fun bonding experience. If this sounds like something you would be interested in putting on our calendar. Visit our website at boardandbrush.com/olympia/ from there go to Book a Workshop and select Book a Corporate Event to get started. We hope to work with your group soon.

The Griffin Neighborhood Association encourages residents to support local businesses like Board & Brush. We believe we all thrive when our local businesses thrive and we’re happy to have Board & Brush in our neighborhood! We hope you’ll stop by Board & Brush to pick up your own Steamboat Neighborhood sticker.

Enjoy a night out soon at Board & Brush.

For more information about Board & Brush Creative Studio or to book a workshop, visit their website. You can also email them at Olympia@boardandbrush.com. Follow Board & Brush on Instagram, too.

GNA Board Adds a Member, Sets Meeting Schedule, and Begins to Plan the Summer Annual Picnic

In late February, after January’s Annual Community Meeting, the Board of the Griffin Neighborhood Association met for their annual reorganization meeting. Among other items on the agenda, the reorganization meeting is when the Board elects its officers and plans its meeting schedule for the year.

This year, Rebecca Reavis returns as President. Dawn McCain will serve as Vice President. Biene Wood continues as Treasurer. Dee Tropp will continue to serve as Secretary.

At the end of January’s Annual Community Meeting, we were one member short of an entire 17-person Board. That seat was filled in February by Jenna Ritchie. Welcome, Jenna, and thank you for joining our Board of Directors!

The meeting schedule for 2024 will be as it was last year. The Board will meet on the 4th Wednesday of every month. We haven’t yet set up the location, but we’ll begin by seeing if the Griffin Fire Department Headquarters conference room is available for the meetings.

Look for a complete schedule of Board meetings to be posted here on our website’s community calendar and on Facebook. About two weeks before each meeting, we’ll post the event on Nextdoor, too.

Board meetings are always open to the public. Please attend one of our meetings to see what’s going on in the community and make your voice heard. Also, we cannot do all we do without your help. Working with our Board is a great way to give back and help make our community a wonderful place in which to live.

There’s another meeting just around the corner. Planning for this summer’s Annual Community Picnic will kick off on Thursday, March 14th. At 6 PM, we’ll meet at the Reavis’ home on 41st Ave. NW to start to plan. We would love your input and help.

This year’s GNA picnic will be held on Saturday, June 22, from noon to 4 PM. As always, we will have lots of food, activities, entertainment, vendor booths, and fun for the whole family. This event takes a lot of work, and we always need fresh ideas and helping hands to make it happen. You can choose to be involved as much or as little as you like. Would you like to help with planning and be part of the committee? Or maybe you’d like to help for an hour or so on the picnic day? We’d love to have whatever you can offer.

Please email tropp911@gmail.com if you have questions or would like to volunteer to help with this year’s picnic.

2024 Griffin Neighborhood Association Board of Directors
Left to right, back row: Paul Frindt, Shawn Brannon, Sharon Parker, Jonelle Adams, Nathan Bowman, Jan Hopwood, Joan Thomas, Tom Larsen, Nancy Chapman, Mike Reavis, Bill Tropp
Front row: Shelley Larsen, Dawn McCain (Vice President), Dee Tropp (Secretary), Biene Wood (Treasurer), Becky Reavis (President). Behind the camera is our newest member, Jenna Ritchie.

Click here to read the entire blog of the Griffin Neighborhood Association or to post a comment on any individual story.

The opinions expressed on the GriffinNeighbors blog, on Twitter, Instagram, and on Facebook are in no way intended to represent the opinions of the Griffin Neighborhood Association, its members, or Board.

Looking for the RSS feed for our blog? Here's a link to our feed. Want to learn more about Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication? Here's a link to get you started.

Click on an image above for more information.

Community Events

Now on Facebook

Now on Twitter

Support Us While Shopping Online