Jared Aarons was a young, ambitious sports reporter when he moved to Cedar Rapids in 2004 to begin work at KGAN-TV, excited about his new job after spending a few years at a station in Montana.

"When I came here I thought, this is a good job. I could do this for a few years and then make the jump to that top-10 market that everybody is chasing," he said.

That was nearly 10 years ago. He's greatly enjoyed his time at KGAN/CBS2 and FOX 28, but now it's time to say good-bye. Aarons will be moving to California soon. Friday will be his last day on the air here.

"It goes quickly, and at the same time it takes forever," he said. "When I started at KGAN, 10 years was not in my plans. I was 25 when I moved to Iowa."

Aarons grew up in Phoenix. Many of his relatives live in Arizona, California and Colorado. His girlfriend, former KGAN reporter Erika Cervantes, works for a TV station in Fresno, Calif., and Aarons is anxious to continue his relationship with Cervantes and work in California.

"The West Coast has always had a very strong pull on me," he said.

Aarons does not have a new job lined up. He'd like to stay in the broadcasting business or a related field like marketing or promotions.

"That will be one of my first chores when I get out there is to start making some phone calls and seeing what's available," he said.

Aarons has covered a wide variety of sports the past 10 years with the high school, college, pro and amateur teams in the area. He's also done promotional work for the Kernels and RoughRiders, including serving as an on-field host for Kernels games, and has lots of fond memories of special teams, coaches and athletes.

His fondest memory came at the 2008 Masters golf tournament, a year after Cedar Rapids native Zach Johnson won the green jacket. Aarons remembers going to the Augusta National Golf Club for an interview with Johnson, not knowing exactly what to expect.

"He hadn't arrived yet, so I was just kind of wandering around and then I got word that his trailer was pulling up," Aarons related. "So I went and waited for him to show. He was the defending champ, so everybody wanted to talk to Zach.

"I walked up to him as he came out to the practice range on the first day, introduced myself and told him where I was from. I'd like to think he kind of recognized me and I asked for an interview and he said, 'Absolutely.'

"So I pulled out my camera and the microphone and started going and a couple of other reporters walked up and put their microphones in to try and get in on the interview with the defending champ. He stepped them and said, 'Guys, this is just for Jared from my home town.' "And I thought, 'That's amazing.' That's one of the things I'll always remember, is that specific day at the Masters, and the whole week  being there as well."

Aarons got heavily involved with broadcasting during his student years at Arizona State University. He served as a video intern with the Arizona Diamondbacks the year they won the World Series, got a job in Butte, Mont., and came to KGAN as the No.3 person in the department.

He was promoted to weekend sports anchor in 2005 and became the sports director in 2007. "All of a sudden, seven years have gone by as the sports director and you look back and think, 'Wow, this has been a great decade.'"

He enjoyed covering the University of Northern Iowa football team on its journey to the NCAA Division I-AA national championship game, flying with the team to games in New Hampshire and Texas before joining the Panthers on the flight to Chattanooga, Tenn., and the finals.

He got a big kick out of covering the Iowa Hawkeyes at the 2010 Orange Bowl and will never forget covering the UNI men's basketball team when it upset No.1 Kansas at the NCAA tournament in 2010. He also covered the Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones in NCAA tournaments and other bowl games.

"As far as the big events, those are the things that stand out," he said.

Aarons won an Emmy Award in 2012 as "Best Sports Anchor" from the Upper Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

He cherishes the memories and appreciates all the opportunities he's had to have a front seat, covering the games and people he enjoys.

"We get paid to do it, and I've really tried my hardest to never take that for granted," he remarked. "And I certainly will miss it if it goes away."