Spreading Joy on the Water

Lake Austin Marina in Austin, Texas, winning the Marina Dock Age 2025 small Marina of the Year award is a testament to the impact a fresh perspective can have—especially when it comes from outside the marine industry.
The marina’s general manager, Tara Carr, has been at the helm since 2018, arriving from a career in craft beer distribution. “My focus was boutique-style convenience stores,” Carr said. “I left that industry not knowing what I wanted to do. My mom encouraged me to try property management, which is how I ended up here.”

Utilizing Strengths
From day one, Carr immersed herself in marina management. She became a Certified Marina Manager through the Association of Marina Industries, helped Lake Austin Marina earn its Texas Clean Marina certification and is now in line to become the next president of the Marina Association of Texas.

“This is such a cool industry,” Carr said. “There’s something in it for everyone, especially if you love water and boats like I do. Any marina manager will tell you this job is different every day—which keeps me stimulated. I’m never bored.”
With her background in sales, Carr quickly made the marina store one of her first priorities. She oversaw a complete renovation of the 625-square-foot space, expanding watersports retail, branded merchandise, higher-quality beer and wine and health-focused food options popular with Lake Austin’s wakesurfing community.

Wanting to support local businesses, she partnered with a local designer and screen printer for the new branded merchandise. “It was easy to focus on the store first because it was something I was good at,” Carr said. “That success helped build me professionally. I put a lot of tender love and care into the ship store, and it’s flattering to have longtime customers compliment those changes.”

One of the hardest parts of that transformation, she admitted, was stepping back and trusting her team to manage daily operations, but while the store was thriving, bigger challenges were calling.

Expanding Services
Although retail was Carr’s comfort zone, she couldn’t ignore the marina’s aging fuel infrastructure. Lake Austin Marina operates the only fuel service on the lake, yet its underground tank—installed in the mid-1980s—held just 2,800 gallons. With modern boats carrying 60 to 100 gallons or more, the capacity was no longer sufficient.

“We ran out of fuel a lot, and it was taxing on myself and the kids working,” Carr said. “During COVID and through some of central Texas’ natural disasters, we had to ration fuel to about 10 gallons per boat. Customers would get snappy and rude.”

The marina dispensed roughly 200,000 gallons annually, and the outdated system also posed environmental concerns.

Last year, Carr led the permitting process and broke ground during the winter on a new 8,000-gallon underground storage tank, along with upgraded fuel lines and monitoring systems. The project wrapped up by the third week of April—nearly a month later than expected.

During construction, Carr balanced oversight of the installation with managing commercial office tenants, coordinating slip license renewals, supervising a multi-dock rebuild and running ship store operations. “It was especially challenging to train a new seasonal staff while fuel operations were at a standstill due to the delayed completion,” she noted.

Over the past 18 months, Lake Austin Marina has completed a series of major capital improvements aimed at modernizing infrastructure and enhancing the customer experience. Docks 5 through 7 were rebuilt, fairways were widened, and walkways were improved for better navigation, safety and aesthetics. Solar power upgrades now support both the ship’s store and fuel dock, and the marina renewed its Texas Clean Marina certification. Each project was completed with minimal disruption to daily operations.

Maintaining Staff
When Carr first arrived, staff turnover was a major challenge. “I didn’t see many seasonal employees return, and it created an exhausting cycle of hiring and training that never seemed to end,” she said.

Today, Carr focuses on mentorship, identifying each employee’s strengths and placing them in roles where they can succeed. Team members are encouraged to see themselves as part of the marina’s mission to serve both customers and the property. If they ever forget, the reminder is stitched right onto their uniforms: Here to Help.

Her approach has paid off. At least five staff members return each season, many through word of mouth and most coming from local high schools. “What used to be one of my biggest headaches is now something that brings me so much joy,” Carr said. “I love watching my young staff blossom, gain confidence, make real-world connections and do a great job.”

Giving Back to the Community
Beyond happy employees, Carr’s team also brings joy to the broader community. The marina hosts several events each year for commercial tenants and boaters, encouraging connections that often inspire office workers to become future boaters.

The marina’s managing partner created The Clayton Dabney Foundation, named after their son, who lost his battle with childhood cancer. The foundation helps support the families of children with terminal cancer, allowing them to spend meaningful time together during long medical treatments.

The marina also established the Lake Austin Marina Endowed Pediatric Oncology Research Fund with Dell Medical School at UT Austin to fund research for childhood cancer. Since the fund’s creation in 2021, more than $100,000 has been raised—much of it through the ship’s store proceeds.

Shared Success
In her Marina of the Year application, Carr wrote about the unique spirit of Lake Austin Marina.

“Lake Austin Marina has more heart than any other place I’ve been,” she said. “The people here are truly happy—whether they’re working, running their business, or enjoying the lake. The joy is infectious.”

Carr credits her team for the marina’s success and shares the Marina of the Year honor with every employee who helped make it possible. Though she was new to the marine industry just seven years ago, she now can’t imagine working anywhere else—and looks forward to inspiring more young people to pursue maritime careers.