Grand Master Renee Shereff congratulates Randy Casco on his promotion to Senior Master.

He is a man that truly represents the integrity and family values that make our island home the special place that it is. Born and bred in the village of Lahaina, Randy Casco has dedicated his entire adult life to the educational and spiritual development of both the children and the adults of the community.

Moreover, he and his wife, Stacy – who also has worked to promote the well-being of the people of Maui – raised their three sons to be upstanding representatives of the West Side. Kawika, Kainoa and Lake Casco will go down in Lahainaluna High School history as three of the outstanding scholar-athletes ever to attend the oldest public high school west of the Rockies. They were all-state football players, state champion wrestlers, letter winners in multiple sports and academic honor students that went on to earn college degrees. They have all returned to the islands to give back to their home community as firefighters and sustainable energy proponents.

Randy led the way. After high school, he served in the U.S. Air Force and then attended Northern Colorado University. He earned a degree in Physical Education and also began practicing the martial art of Taekwondo. He returned to Maui with his degree in education and a black belt in TKD from the United States Taekwondo Federation.

He taught physical education at Lahaina Intermediate School for 25 years before retiring two years ago, coached track and field hurdlers at Lahainaluna and guided Casco’s Taekwondo at Lahaina Civic Center from 1981 forward.

Current Lahaina Intermediate School Principal Stacy Bookland described him as a “phenomenal team guy and a person that always had good things said about him. And he really loved this school.”

To this day, Casco has manifested the honor code of the traditional martial art of Taekwondo and passed this spirit on to his students. Hundreds of adults and youngsters have been shown the pathway to inner peace and perseverance through his mentorship throughout recent decades.

Randy was honored last week when USTF Grand Master Renee Shereff, Ninth Degree and first woman Grand Master in USTF history, came to Maui with an entourage of family and friends to present him with the Eighth Dan (degree) Black Belt ranking.

Casco became one of only 30 Senior Masters recognized by the USTF. Grand Master Sereff presented him with an official USTF certificate, gold embroidered black belt, lapel pin and a commemorative ceramic pot.

“There are no expiration dates on a dream,” said Sereff in the presentation ceremony that took place in the Maui Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa last Tuesday evening. “Your debt is to bring your students up to higher levels.”

Indeed, Senior Master Casco will continue to make good on this commitment to malama pono – nurture in a motherly way that which is good and righteous.