RONALD MORRELL
Serving Marion Through Entrepreneurship
Beginnings in Entrepreneurship
Ronald Morrell Jr. (’17) has been involved in entrepreneurship for as long as he can remember. His grandfather began operating Morrell Floor Covering in Marion more than sixty-two years ago. Ronald toddled around until he could pitch in at the business, learning essential lessons in entrepreneurship at a young age. As he got older, Ronald began to branch out into other interests—such as sports and music—but these early experiences working for his grandfather’s business impacted him in a way that continues to permeate his life. Morrell chose to stay in Marion for his college career, deciding upon Indiana Wesleyan University and its music program. Throughout his time at IWU, Ronald became involved in chorale, ensemble, and other extracurriculars while also dedicating time to his girlfriend, Arianna. Ronald graduated in 2017—the same year he and Arianna married.
The Morrells were celebrating their one—year anniversary in Tennessee together, when Ronald noticed something. As they were walking around Nashville, a sizable number of people kept passing the Morrells on scooters. Intrigued, Ronald stopped someone and asked about the scooters. The man explained that there was a new app that allowed users to quickly and easily rent a scooter which they could then pick up from a variety of stations around the city. Upon learning this, the Morrells then used this transportation method for the rest of the day. Returning to Marion, Ronald felt that Marion and its surrounding areas could make use of something like this. He began to dream of a smaller—scale scooter business for Marion. Ronald valued the benefits of providing scooters enough to give this new business idea a try.
Naming this new business Morrell’s Scooters, Ronald began to meet with potential investors, one of whom included IWU’s then president, Dr. Wright. Wright not only agreed to let Morrell’s Scooters operate on campus for the next two years, but even offered to allow him to operate the business free of charge. With the help of supporters such as Dr. Wright, Morrell was able to launch his business successfully, and thanks to his own determination and dedication, Morrell’s Scooters was able to not only grow to a respectable size inside of Marion, but even began to expand to places such as Gas City, Wabash, Warsaw, Huntington, and Ball State’s campus.
While returning from a family trip to Disneyland a few years later, Ronald was listening to a podcast discussing both the importance and scarcity of event spaces. As he continued to think about this topic, he realized that Marion did not have many spaces like this, and so he began to develop the idea that would soon turn into Elevated Events—a venture that would provide quality event space to individuals and businesses in the area. This second business also proved successful, continuing to grow over time.
Just as his grandfather found success in entrepreneurship, Ronald found success in his footsteps-—providing needed services. And yet this same dedication and hard work did not stop at his own businesses. Just a few months after he began Elevated Events, Morrell brought this same dedication and work ethic to a new position as Director of the Boys and Girls Club of Grant County.
"One thing I took with me from Indiana Wesleyan was the network… I got to see and be in front of all kinds of people all across the United States I never would have gotten to any other way.”
RONALD MORRELL '17 Mayor | Marion, Indiana
At the beginning of his time in leadership of this program, there were seven kids total and hardly any funding. Over the next couple of years, Morrell traveled to find investors who would donate money to this program so that the club could have the resources it was lacking, using his experiences with Morrell’s Scooters and Elevated Events to help save this dying program. By the time he left his role as director in 2022, Morrell had grown the number of kids into the nineties and the annual budget to $500,000.
When Morrell stepped down from this role, it was only to begin his mayoral campaign. By the end of 2023, Ronald was inaugurated as Marion, Indiana’s thirty—first mayor. Morrell has proven his commitment and tenacity as a businessman and now uses these same skills for the civic good of his hometown in what’s certain to be an important chapter in Marion’s history. In a way, Morrell is the picture of a next generation innovator using the expertise and platform of a previous generation’s entrepreneurship success to pivot and launch businesses that disrupt the status quo. Ronald Morrell’s service to Marion extends his innovation through leadership, and the people of Marion benefit from his creative ideas and ability to implement them.
