OEI’s clubhouse manager raises children to love regardless of color
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Photo by Christopher Lugo/Staff Clubhouse manager for Old Edwards Club and GlenCove Club Jonathan Austin worked his way up from the bottom.
For clubhouse manager at Old Edwards Club and GlenCove Club, Jonathan Austin, Black History Month is all about perseverance.
Hailing from a small town called Pittsboro, Austin worked his way up from the bottom of the Old Edwards chain.
Before OEI, Austin joined the Marine Corp., following in the footsteps of his family, with hopes of using his G.I. Bill to fund his education. His first day at boot camp was Sept. 4, 2001.
“My grandfather, father and uncles were all in the military,” Austin said. “They couldn’t afford to send me to school, and I wasn’t going to get to school on a scholarship. So, my idea was to go to the military to get the experience and get that discipline, then utilize the G.I. Bill to go to college, but that didn’t work out. My first day of boot camp was Sept. 4, 2001, and one-week later 9/11 happened. It changed the whole course of my life. All of my education came from on-the-job.”
Eight years ago, OEI president Richard Delany traveled to Chapel Hill, where Austin was working and recruited him to work at the resort.
“What started as a sort of trial run led to me building a career here,” Austin said. “I got here, and I was just a bartender at one of the pools. My career started fast tracking from there. OEI offered a manager in training program, so I signed up for it, was interviewed and started in that program. In that program, you basically go around all of the different departments in the company and work your way up to become a supervisory role. I worked in front desk, housekeeping and food and beverage. A job opening came up for a banquet captain and I applied for that and got it. I did that for little over a year. Bartending is my passion, so when the bar and beverage manager position came open, I applied for that and received it. I did that for a little over a year, as well and then my current job came open.”
Now in his fifth season as clubhouse manager, Austin oversees all day-to-day operations for both the Old Edwards Club and the new GlenCove Club.
“Everything from the front of the house to the pool, I oversee,” Austin said. “The plan for Glencove is a really cool concept. The owners want a place for all ages. They want a place for the children, for the older men and women who play golf, for the women who don’t play golf, for the men who don’t play golf and a place for the grandparents. So, I am looking forward to seeing families come together and be able to have all of these activities together in one place without having to separate.”
With his two children, Austin said he and his wife, Sophie, teach them to love everyone regardless of color.
“We want them to understand that there is a difference in color, but not to see anyone for their color,” Austin said. “It doesn’t matter what race you are, you’re still a person. My children are rambunctious and smart. They are very, very loving children. They are very emotionally intelligent and very aware of other people and their feelings. I like to say that my daughter is like a little Sour Patch Kid. First, she is sour, then she is sweet. She is a little ball of fire and very determined and willed. My son is very emotionally aware and intelligent. He thinks of other people, and they just love everybody. They act like they haven’t met a stranger.”
Black history itself, Austin said, means a lot to him.
“Black history means coming up through adversity,” Austin said. “Being knocked down, pushed around and not giving up to get to where we are today. To have had an African American President is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream that he never saw. He and many others laid down those footsteps to get us to where we are. Black history itself means perseverance.”
Looking forward, Austin said he plans to climb the ladder at OEI as far as he can go.
“I don’t think there is a ceiling to what I can do,” Austin said. “I see myself continuing to grow mentally, professionally and eventually get to a point where my wife and I have our own thing going on.”
Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently has been observed in Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It is celebrated from Feb. 1 to March 1.
- By Christopher Lugo