A comfortable fit

Cassady Jeremias

Brian Carlson, the new general manager of the Bahia Corinthian Yacht

Club, has more on his mind than just yachts. This married father of a

2-year-old daughter admits he’s not even a sailor.

“I just love being near the water or on the water. Sailing is just

not my thing,” he said. “If I were to be out on the open water, I’d

much rather be on a big Duffy electric boat. It would get me there

faster, too.”

Carlson, an avid golfer and Orange County native, started out as a

food server at the yacht club in 1992. He worked his way up to food

and beverage manager. Different management jobs took him around

Southern California to the Newport Harbor Yacht Club, where he was

the clubhouse manager, and most recently to the University Club of

Pasadena as general manager.

The commute from his house in Irvine to Pasadena took up to an

hour-and-a-half each way. He was happy to find something closer to

home.

“It is a smooth and easy transition for me. I probably know half

the members here and many of the employees,” he said.

After graduating from Orange Coast College with an associate’s

degree, he got a bachelor’s in management from Pepperdine University.

“I always knew I wanted to be a manager,” he said. “Club

management is definitely my career. I definitely want to be involved

in it for the rest of my working life.”

At work, Carlson looks after after club members’ needs and

interacting with employees and the community. He admits it can be the

best and worst part of his job.

After he was interrupted by co-workers with a quick question about

the dining room seating arrangement, he went right back to business

with a quote from the mission statement:

“We are our members’ home on the bay,” he said.

In the future, Carlson hopes to manage a country club so he can be

around golf but says he wants to stay local. He likes the feel of a

club, which has members, better than that of a hotel or restaurant,

where people come and go every day.

“It would really have to be worth the while to my family and me to

pick up and move,” he said.