Rand Runco: World traveler rooted in Sisters
By Zander Albertson

He has the heart of an adventurer and has traveled the world, yet Rand Runco is very much rooted in Central Oregon and is happy to call Sisters his home.

Runco is a dyed-in-the-wool Sisters Country native, born and raised in Sisters. His parents moved to the area from California in the 1950s, in search of a place “just like Sisters.”

Rand attended Sisters Elementary School, which then taught kindergarten through sixth grade. In high school, Runco had the unique experience of being taught by his own father.

He considers his father’s influence a factor in pursuing a career in education himself.

After attending Western Oregon University, and graduate school at Oregon State University, Runco began his teaching career with temporary positions at Sisters elementary and middle schools, teaching Physical Education. His penchant for travel took him to New Zealand, yet he soon returned to Sisters and was hired at Sisters High School, where he has continued to be a vital part of the school and community for the last 19 years.

“Sisters School District has always been an amazing place. The principal of the high school at the time, Dennis Dempsey, promoted trying new things with a hands-on approach — experiential teaching,” Runco said.

At the time, the high school offered “co-op PE,” where students practiced teaching other students about the topic in question.

“Lots of these students went on to become guides and leaders in their fields… this was an impactful program,” Runco said.

He began coaching in college, and continued at Sisters High School, coaching the JV and freshman basketball teams until the varsity position opened up during the 1997-98 season. Coaching has allowed Runco to feel not just a connection to his students, but also to the community.
He says coaching is “a part of my life forever.”

Out of the high school’s innovative co-op teaching program, “IEE” was born. Runco, along with fellow teachers Glen Herron, Rob Phelps and Samra Spear, initiated Interdisciplinary Environmental Expeditions (IEE) which combines science, english and physical education.
“We saw that students were able to look at Sisters in a truly different light when they finished the program. The class, which explores many aspects of the Sisters area, including weather, geography and climate, also gives students experiences that the classroom cannot,” Runco said. “It gives students a ‘sense of place,’ and even more importantly, a ‘sense of person.’ Many graduates return to Sisters after graduation and say that this class gave them a unique interest in the environment and how to respect it.”

Thirty years ago, when Rand’s brother returned from a trip to Nepal, Runco’s interest was sparked. Runco’s first trip to Nepal left him “struck by the place, to put it mildly.”

The following summer, he returned and observed injured Nepalese being carried in baskets on treacherous mountain trails, taking days to receive medical care. This spurred his interest in supplying stretchers to locals in the region.

He cites fellow teacher Mark LaMont as the driving force in establishing the non-profit that is now known as Ten Friends. LaMont and Runco co-founded the four-year-old service organization. The program has expanded to include the installation of water filters vital to orphanages and teaching programs for young Nepalese women.

“The Sisters community and school district have been so supportive… they have been nearly the complete support of Ten Friends,” Runco said. View their work at www.tenfriends.org.

Runco’s experience teaching IEE, along with his work in Nepal, led him to eventually bring a group of Sisters students to Nepal. It has since evolved into an annual summer trip where students participate in service projects, trek, and learn about Nepalese culture.

“This was a natural fit for IEE graduates in that many were interested in service and the outdoors. It’s just not OK that kids live in a cement room with diarrhea when we can do something to fix it,” he said.

“I feel blessed to be able to do the things I am able to do. My parents, my teachers and community gave me the confidence to think I could do anything, and now I am able to be involved with a world-scale organization.”

He says his desire to help others started with his parents: “At a young age they did not tell me ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ but asked how I was going to make something happen,” he said.

Rand Runco lives that idea in all he does: coaching, inspiring students to see the world in a new way, and his passion for service to others, both in Sisters and abroad.

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