Greetings Community Members, 

I hope you’re doing well, and enjoying spring as much as I am. It is baseball season, and the Mariners are finally playing some good baseball again. Spring break for most of our local schools has just wrapped up, and many families just returned from a quick vacation away to some sunshine. I wish all our students and educators a great final quarter of this school year. 

What We Have Been Up To: 

It has been busy here at Greater Grays Harbor, Inc. since my last CEO Message in March. Our Director of Member Services, Stephanie Conway and I had the privilege of participating in the Rotary Business Week at Weatherwax High School in Aberdeen in early April. This program involves the Junior Class, Educators, and Advisors from the business community for a 5-day program that included seventeen different teams competing as individual companies in several areas of business. This was a terrific opportunity for us to help teach the students about the challenges and opportunities of running a business, and to help give them a small insight into what their futures in business could look like. 

I would like to thank Co-Superintendent Lynn Green, AHS Staff, participating Educators, and the students for the opportunity to participate in this great program. This was one of the most fun weeks I have had in this position and look forward to next year’s Business Week Program. 

Planning continues for our 2025 Leaders’ Celebration on May 30th at the Quinault Casino. We are planning one of our biggest events since before Covid, so we are excited for this event to highlight the winners of several categories of businesses that are voted upon by our GGHI Members. If you would like to purchase tickets to this event, they can be found at this link, https://chamber.graysharbor.org/events/register/14932.  

During this event, we raise funding for the Greater Grays Harbor Foundation. This foundation is a non-profit that helps fund activities such as the Business Week Programs around Grays Harbor County, as well as other activities for students. 

Government Affairs: 

It is an interesting time of year for us at Greater Grays Harbor, Inc., with the end of the 2025 Legislative Session in sight, we continue to watch closely what is happening in Olympia, as well as what is happening at the federal level with funding programs being cut. 

We are active with our Government Affairs Team advocating for and against legislation that affects business in Grays Harbor. We are also active with the Washington Economic Development Association, and Association of Washington Business opposing legislation that negatively impacts businesses of all sizes in Grays Harbor. This involves testifying before the House and Senate Committee’s to state our position on proposed legislation, and its impact on business. 

Another primary focus has been collaborating with our public partners in advocating for new or the retention of promised funding for large infrastructure projects in Grays Harbor that have an enormous impact on community and economic development and housing. I would like to thank all our public partners for their advocacy, and for helping to build a strong team that is being noticed on both the state and federal level. Together we can all make a difference. 

New Membership Opportunity: 

Are you interested in becoming a member of Greater Grays Harbor Inc., but are not a business? Well, we are now providing a new opportunity for Individual Memberships for $150 per year. This membership is for individuals, not businesses, and provides an individual with the opportunity to attend our GGHI events at reduced prices, as well as to attend for free, our weekly legislative updates on Friday mornings during the legislative session. For more information on this, please contact our office at 360-532-7888. 

Upcoming Events:

Find more GGHI events and events taking place across the county on our GGHI Events Calendar! Submit your own event to be featured by clicking the + sign located above the righthand corner of the calendar.  

Warmest Regards, 

Darrin Raines

Darrin C. Raines 

Chief Executive Officer 

Greater Grays Harbor, Inc. 

 

Greater Grays Harbor, Inc. Contact Information:

Darrin C. Raines, CEO  

Phone : 360-532-7888, Email: draines@graysharbor.org  

Candie Gleason, CFO  

Phone: 360-532-7888, Email: candie@graysharbor.org   

Kelsey Norvell-Williams, Marketing Director  

Phone: 360-532-7888, Email: knorvell@graysharbor.org  

Loretta Thomas, Director of Business Development 

Phone: 360-532-7888, Email: lthomas@graysharbor.org  

Stephanie Conway, Director of Member Services 

Phone 360-532-7888, Email: sconway@graysharbor.org