Like Matt, Ian explained how he was born int Toronto on December 31 1951. Ian joked that what he didn't realize at the time was that "everybody in the world celebrates my birthday with fireworks".

 

Ian was raised in Toronto completing his elementary, high school, and undergraduate levels of education in Canada's biggest city.

 

Ian reminisced that the most memorable part of his undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto was meeting his wife, Carol, who was also an undergraduate at the time. "Our relationship blossomed", Ian said,  "and we were married on May 31 1975 so this year, God willing, on May 31 2025, I will be celebrating my 50th wedding anniversary."

 

Like many of us, while in undergrad, Ian reflected on what career path he wanted to take. After "considering some alternatives," Ian decided to pursue a legal career. 

In 1976, he was accepted into Queens law school in Kingston. In 1976 he graduated with a law degree. "Now at the time," Ian explained, "to become a lawyer, it was a three step process. You had to have your undergraduate degree. You then had to do articling with a law firm for a year. Articling is like an apprenticeship, and then you had to complete a bar Admission Program, which was six months of lectures and classes or and exams."

 

Ian completed each of these three steps and was admitted as a lawyer in April of 1978. Ian was called to the bar in Toronto, and then, out of the gate, accepted a position with a law firm in the city. 

 

"But as you heard from Matt," Ian Said, "my career path actually took me to Ingersoll, Ontario." Ian found that the firm in Toronto wasn't for him. After a year, he and his wife wanted to live in a smaller community.

 

After a couple of months of looking, Ian accepted a position with a firm in Ingersoll, Ontario. Ingersoll may seem like an unusual choice, especially considering neither Ian nor Carol had family living there. "but Ingersoll," Ian explained, "if you know where it is, it's actually quite well situated. It's only about 40 minutes from downtown London, about 45 minutes from Kitchener and about two hours or so, depending on the traffic from downtown Toronto, it was also a pleasant looking community." So it felt like the perfect place for him and his wife to move. 

 

Ian accepted the position at the Ingersoll law firm, and he started working there in June of 1979. He and his family lived in Ingersoll until 2019. Ian's impressions: "it was a very friendly community for a small town. It had pretty good amenities, it had a hospital, it had a very nice golf course, a curling club, and one of the real benefits was its size. It was small enough that at least a couple of days a week, I was able to walk to work and come home from lunch, and I always saw that as one of the intangible benefits of living and working in a small place."

 

After joining the Rotary Club of Guelph, Ian found two connections to Ingersoll. Both Andrew Johnson and Anne-Marie zajdlik lived in Ingersoll at the same time that Ian moved there. Ian said, "Now I didn't have any reason to cross paths with them. Maybe that was a good thing. Teenagers going to a law office is never, never good."

 

While living in Ingersoll, Ian and Carol raised two children, a daughter, Hillary, and a son, Roger. Roger and Hillary both migrated to Toronto in the early 2000s and they both continue to live and work in downtown Toronto.

 

Ian and Carol have two grandchildren, through Hillary. A granddaughter, who's 13, and a granddaughter who's 10. As Matt explained, one of the reasons Ian and Carol moved to Guelph was to be closer to their children and grandchildren.

 

Ian's vocational placement will say, 'retired lawyer, general practice.' At the start of his career, this was true. Ian took cases in real estate, corporate estates, criminal law, family law, personal injury. But, as laws became more complex overtime, Ian narrowed his focus to three areas, real estate, estates and corporate law.

 

 

From about 1979-2023, Ian practiced law in the same location. In 2008, Ian bought out his last remaining partner and changed the name of the firm to Ian R Blaine, Barrister and Solicitor. In 2020 Ian incorporated the practice. And in 2022 he decided it was time to retire. He negotiated an agreement to sell the practice with two of his associate lawyers. The deal closed in January 2023.

 

As Ian looks back, he said, "I always enjoyed the practice of law. I saw it as more a calling than a job. I enjoyed working with the people, both the clients, the staff, the other lawyers, the other lawyers in the broader community, and I always found the work to be challenging. When I look back, I'm quite satisfied with my career, and I don't have very many regrets." 

 

Ian and Carol made the decision to move to  Guelph because it is halfway between Ingersoll and Toronto. Ian and Carol's daughter did her undergraduate at the University of Guelph, so they had some knowledge of the university area. Guelph also seemed to have good amenities, good shopping, good restaurants, nice parks, the Arboretum. 

 

In 2017, they bought a unit in a high rise condominium at 63 Arthur Street South that was yet to be built. They moved into the condo in 2019.

 

Ian then briefly discussed his involvement in the community. He discussed how he always felt an obligation and need to give back. Ian served on several boards when he lived in Ingersoll. Including: Big Brothers, The Parish Council of St. James Anglican church, a member of the board of the Oxford county law, the Women's Emergency Centre, Alexandra Hospital Board of Directors, District Chamber Commerce, and he served on the board of the local law Association as well.

 

After Covid, when Ian was officially retired, he finally had the time to consider joining a service club in Guelph. His first thought was Rotary. Ian knew a number of Rotarians, and they were always very impressive people.

 

So, Ian decided to reach out to the Rotary Club and sent a message to our website. Michelle Richardson got back to him. They met for coffee, and she explained to Ian what Rotary is and invited him to a meeting. "My first meeting was at the end of November in 2023 and as they say, the rest is history," Ian said. 

 

Ian decided that he liked the atmosphere and the people, as well as the Friday lunches. In March of 2024 Ian officially joined the club. Having been a member for 10 months, he's been incredibly happy with his experience. "I'm impressed by the charitable work that the club does to raise funds for the greater need of the community," he said.  

 

After Ian's Up Close and Personal, he took questions from the floor. 

 

The meeting was then adjourned by President Martin.