TheBuzz
TheBuzz
Recently retired Kaneohe Ranch Co. Ltd. CEO Randy Moore thought he was going to a quiet, low-key "aloha" lunch with his staff yesterday to mark his retirement at Luana Hills Country Club. It was a misperception. Just when you
thought it was safe
to go to lunchAbout 10 staffers were present, but so were members of his family and about 150 guests. Surprise!
"He really was surprised," said Harold K.L. Castle Foundation Vice President and Treasurer Kate Braden.
"He couldn't believe it." Guests applauded him into the banquet room where "about 10,000 people gave him leis," she said, slightly exaggerating the size of the crowd.
The secret was kept close to the vest by not one office staff but two, along with those on the guest list.
Kaneohe Ranch manages real estate owned by the Harold K.L. Castle and Alice H. Castle family trusts and their non-profit charitable foundation, the Harold K. L. Castle Foundation.
Among the chief conspirators, were Molly Moser-Cates, other executives and staff members of both the ranch and the foundation and Moore's wife, Lynne Johnson.
Program speakers included JB McIntosh and John Baldwin, both grandsons of Harold Castle, as well as Pacific Century Trust Vice Chair Walt Laskey -- all Kaneohe Ranch trustees. Other speakers included Bank of Hawaii President Richard Dahl, Don Bremner of the Kailua Urban Design Task Force, and Rod McPhee, former president of Punahou Schools, where Moore is a trustee.
City Councilman Duke Bainum presented Moore a proclamation for his work in the community.
While stepping down from Kaneohe Ranch, Braden said Moore will continue to work with the foundation's board of directors, "We wouldn't dare let him go."
Moore retired so he can pursue his next career -- as a teacher.
Given his plans, the staff rehearsed, to sing at the lunch, "Teach Your Children," the 1970 song by Crosby Stills and Nash.
"That was our sign-off thing that we did," Braden said.
Officially though, the music was provided by Puamana.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com