Blass, Bronwen A.

Vernon Blair joined Brost Law in August 2006, after practicing law for 25 years in the courts of Kentucky and Indiana. He came to Washington with experience in a wide range of cases, including family, criminal, and civil matters including bankruptcy. He has both training and experience in mediation.

Vernon was born in Frederick, Oklahoma. He is the younger of two brothers; his brother Joe is retired from IBM and Deloitte-Touche. His father was a Navy fighter pilot in WWII and Korea. Both his parents were teachers in La Habra, California, once his father separated from the Navy.

After college, Vernon pursued theological studies at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. While he was a student there, he was also pastor of the West Providence Baptist Church of Centertown, Kentucky. In the teachings of the New Testament, he found a calling to the promotion of peace and personal justice. Before and during the time he went to law school at the University of Louisville, Vernon worked for the State of Kentucky processing applications for AFDC and Food Stamps.

Vernon is married to Emily Blair. He has two children, Karen of Elma, Washington, and Clay of Louisville, Kentucky. He also has two step-sons, Eric of Redmond, Washington, and Geoff of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Vernon enjoys hiking in the forests of Western Washington. He also enjoys listening to music and has an extensive music collection. For ten years he was a board member of Louisville Homefront Performances, which produced monthly radio concerts featuring local and regional performers. He served in nearly every capacity with the organization, including programming, stage management, and sound crew. He attends folk, bluegrass and blues festivals in various parts of the country each year.

Vernon is a member of the First Baptist Church of Olympia, where he serves as the Church Moderator.