In his third year of teaching, Jay Blain signed up all 13 new hires at Valley Junior High as union members. It got the attention of Granite Education Association (GEA) leaders. So did the questions he kept asking at every meeting he attended. Both habits would define the next three decades of his career.
Blain, UniServ Coordinator and Bargaining Director for the Utah Education Association, will retire this summer after more than 37 years in education, including 16 years on UEA staff. He started as a math teacher in Granite School District in 1989 and went on to serve as GEA president for five years, spend more than a decade on bargaining and insurance committees, and serve on the Utah Retirement Systems board before joining UEA staff.
At UEA, Blain became the go-to resource on school finance and tax policy, making a point to travel to every corner of the state to help local leaders understand funding and advocate for members. He described his approach simply: 'I put the fun in funding."
UEA President Renée Pinkney said the annual UEA Bargaining Summit, which Blain led, had a direct and lasting impact on her own development as a leader. "As a result of Jay's tutelage through the annual UEA Bargaining Summit, I became a much better local leader with a greater understanding of budgets that has served me well for more than a decade in many different leadership positions," Pinkney said.
"As an educator and a lifelong learner, whenever I didn't know something, I asked questions," Blain said. "I found people who knew a lot, and they would graciously take the time to help me learn more. I have tried to share that knowledge with members across the state to help them advocate for themselves."
Blain said the work itself was never far from why he started teaching in the first place.
"What I will miss the most is the people," he said. "I have been to every corner of the state and know that we have excellent educators in those places."
UEA thanks Jay Blain for never stopping asking questions, and for sharing the answers with every member who needed them.
