Iyomasa was an unsung hero

Saddened to hear of the passing of Aaron Iyomasa, one of the unsung heroes on the local sports and broadcast scene. He had a major hand in the production of UH sports telecasts for decades. A great professional, and a witty and caring guy leaving us way too soon.

I would normally only get a chance to talk with Aaron once in awhile because we’d both usually be busy doing our thing at work. But when we did, he was always such a sincere guy but also super funny in a very smart way.

I particularly recall some really fun meals with him and others in the TV crew at road games. He was a leader among a group of super-dedicated hard-working pros, most of whom lived and died UH sports.

I envied his ability to break down a ridiculous and complicated situation into a few simple, profound words. I got the impression that’s what he was like on the job, too: A problem solver.

And he was genuinely caring for others. Any conversation I had with him always ended with me smiling.

So does this remembrance from Kanoa Leahey. From the time Kanoa was a little kid tagging along with his dad, sportscaster Jim Leahey, he knew Aaron. He then worked with Aaron many years as Kanoa became a voice of the Rainbows and Warriors, too.

“First thing that comes to my mind is how fun-loving he was,” Kanoa said. “Whenever he’d get a chance on road trips to the mainland, he would detour to Disneyland on the way home. We were together on several of those road trips and he would invite us to go with him, but most of the time, we were antsy to get home. So he would often go on his own. It was part of his ‘kid at heart’ personality. We’d chuckle at some of the pictures he’d come back with, of him riding Splash Mountain with an entire row to himself, looking like he was having the time of his life.”