On April 24th of 2009, I hopped in my car with a friend of mine and started the drive from Madison, Wisconsin to Seattle, Washington.

We went across Southern Minnesota, into Iowa and through South Dakota.

Earlier that month, I had been flown to Seattle to interview with RealNetworks for the job I would inevitably move for. It was the first and only time I’ve ever been flown somewhere for an interview, and while that doesn’t sound like a big deal, I like to acknowledge and take note of life’s smaller but significant achievements.

After I was offered the job, I left the sinking start-up I was barely a part of at that point and headed West.

My wife and I spent 11 years in Wisconsin and our daughter was born there. I have many great memories of it – the house we bought (and sold on the day we listed it… quite fortuitous), the marketing department I built at Capital Newspapers, the friends we made, the awesome cake and donuts at Lane’s Bakery.

But it was time to go, and we had done all we could do there. Wisconsin was a good run, and there’s a big space in my heart reserved for it, but I’m also happy I left, and will continue to look forward to all of the great challenges and opportunities heading my way.

- My name is Jon Friesch, and Wisconsin will always be my first home.