A Family of Successful Entrepreneurs
Born in Marion, Ronald Morrell Jr. started to work for his grandfather’s company, Morrell Floor Covering, at a very young age. Morrell Floor Covering has been in Marion for sixty-two years, making it the oldest black-owned business in town, and helping to instill Ronald with essential qualities of leadership and entrepreneurship early on.
Through a childhood which combined this kind of entrepreneurial environment with the importance of faith and a loving home, Ronald was given the strong foundation that would benefit him throughout his life.
Church
Morrell attends Christ Temple Church, the same church he’s been a part of for most of his life. With services between fifty to seventy attendees, Christ Temple was where Morrell first became involved in ministry.
Generally helping wherever needed, one Sunday Morrell was needed on the drums. This then occurred several more times, and before long it became clear that music was not only a gift of Morrell's, but also a passion.
Additionally, as he spent more time in ministry over the course of the next few years, he became increasingly better at speaking in front of people and engaging with them in an intentional manner. Even when not serving in ministry these traits would prove to be invaluable throughout his life.
Early Opportunities
While in seventh grade, Morrell was able to participate in a Junior Olympics Basketball Team and had the opportunity to travel across the globe to Thailand to compete.
Two years later, he was once again able to travel - this time to San Diego for music related reasons.
While in high school, Morrell also met another classmate named Arianna. Before long they had fallen for each other, and in 2010 they began to date.
Going to IWU
In 2012, Morrell began his freshman year at Indiana Wesleyan University. During his time at IWU, he took part in the chapel worship team, was involved in ensemble, and was part of multiple traveling worship teams. Through all of these avenues, Morrell was able to use his musical talents to praise God and serve others.
Thanks to his involvement in IWU’s traveling worship teams, Morrell was able to visit a sizable amount of the United States, once again increasing the scope of his experiences while staying rooted in Marion.
Morrell’s time at IWU was also marked by a variety of strong connections with other students that have since served him well. Throughout his experiences as an entrepreneur and politician, Morrell has drawn from these connections at various times, pulling people who he knows have talents in specific areas into projects they’re well equipped for.
Morrell graduated in 2017 with a degree in music. That same year, he and Arianna got married.
First Business Venture
For the Morrells’ one-year anniversary, the couple traveled to Tennessee together. While there, they saw many people using scooters to get around, and discovered that there was an app which offered this service as a transportation option.
Always thinking of ways to better his community, Ronald kept this in mind and upon returning to Marion set about developing something similar for the community.
Ronald began this new business, which he named Morrell’s Scooters, with the intention of serving Marion specifically.
Seeking any potential investors he could get, Ronald met with IWU’s then president - Dr. Wright - who supported the idea by allowing Morrell’s Scooters to operate on campus for free for the next two years.
Through a combination of this kind of support from IWU and others, as well as Morrell’s own determination and drive, Morrell’s Scooters soon grew to service not just Marion, but also Gas City, Wabash, Warsaw, Huntington, and Ball State.
Having caught the entrepreneurial itch, Morrell continued to keep his eyes out for any other things he could help bring to Marion.
Second Small Business
Over the course of the next few years, Ronald and Arianna had two daughters. While on the way back from a family trip to Disneyland, Ronald had the idea to begin another business in Marion.
Named Elevated Events, Morrell’s goal with this venture was to provide quality event space that could be used by various members of the community - either businesses or individuals.
This venture also proceeded to do well, showing that Morrell had once again tapped into something that the area had needed - something not many entrepreneurs in the area had done.
Innovation in Grant County
In September of that same year, Morrell became the director of the Boys and Girls Club of Grant County. When he began, the organization had one assistant, seven kids total, and funding issues.
While the budget had never been substantial, by the time Morrell was placed in charge it was essentially nonexistent.
Over the course of the next year, however, the number of kids involved grew from seven to fifty and funding increased as Morrell traveled around both the city of Marion and the state of Indiana as a whole attempting to raise money for necessary resources which the club did not have.
By the end of the year, the budget had grown to roughly $270,000. Over the course of 2022, the budget for the organization grew to $500,000 and the number of kids grew substantially as well - eventually hitting the nineties once schools added the Boys and Girls Club to their list of bus stops.
Mayoral Campaign
In 2023, Morrell changed paths as he began his mayoral campaign. Running as a republican candidate, Morrell made history when he won by becoming the first black republican mayor in Indiana and the first black mayor in Marion’s history.
These historic achievements are only the beginning, however, as Morrell intends to create a great deal of positive change in Marion during his time in office.
Economic Development in Marion
Although he has tried to leave Marion at various points in his life (moving to Greenville and Northern Illinois) and has traveled extensively, the love Morrell has for the community of Marion is strong.
This care for his hometown has now driven Morrell to engage with it from the highest position of authority in the city - something he sees as being a sizable responsibility.
His current hopes for his time in office are to increase the population of Marion by both bringing new people in and retaining those who are already living here. Successful entrepreneurs create many things, and for Morrell that will likely include economic growth.
Under his administration it would not be surprising to see a growth in new businesses and existing small businesses throughout the city. Having already played a crucial role in the city through his businesses, there is little doubt he will excel as mayor.
Responsibilities
Juggling his various responsibilities – whether they be mayoral, entrepreneurial, or familial – can be a difficult challenge sometimes. Morrell feels that it is often impossible for him to give every single one the care it deserves simultaneously.
However, Morrell feels lucky to have people in all of these areas who he can rely on to support him and do what he isn’t able to - the most important of these being his wife, Arianna, who he has been able to rely on as his biggest supporter for over a decade.
From Junior Olympics to worship teams to entrepreneurial ventures to government office to parenthood, Ronald Morrell Jr. has already done a lot - with his biggest driving question always being, “Where does God want me to be?”
While he doesn’t know how long he’ll be Marion’s mayor, he intends to do the best he can in this position for as long as God sees fit to keep him in it. Regardless of what comes, Morrell knows that no matter what, both God and his family will be with him.