Time sure does fly.

Flashback to August of 2014: I made the 34-mile drive from where I live in Puyallup to the Bellevue Reporter office in Factoria to interview for a sports reporter position with Sound Publishing. After going through the interview process with publisher Bill Shaw and editor Craig Groshart, I accepted the job and hit the ground running on Aug. 22.

A little more than 59 months later, my time at Sound Publishing is coming to a close. I have accepted a social media coordinator position in the Puget Sound region. My final day at the four newspapers I work for (Bellevue Reporter, Issaquah Reporter, Snoqualmie Valley Record and Mercer Island Reporter) will be on Aug. 2.

Covering sports in Bellevue was a fantastic experience. I had the opportunity to cover a plethora of phenomenal teams and athletes over the years. While covering titles and individual achievements of local athletes was enjoyable, what I will cherish most from my tenure at the newspaper are the relationships cultivated with members of the community.

Each time I attended a football, soccer or basketball contest at Newport High School, I would visit with Bellevue resident Steve Goucher, who worked security/crowd control at the majority of the home contests. Goucher, who played minor league baseball in the early 1990s, is a great storyteller. Wes Newton, who is the athletic director for the Sammamish Totems, is someone I always enjoyed visiting with at Totems athletic events. Newton works countless hours to ensure everything is running smoothly at every single athletic event. Like I’ve told Newton before, I can see him running the sports show at Sammamish for the next several decades.

Most of all, I want to thank you (Bellevue readers) for allowing me to tell your stories. I did my best to go beyond the scores and stats. It was an honor being your sportswriter, Bellevue. I will never forget it.