Morrell Ranch ‘Hilton in the woods’

Ron Kroeger, Director of Sales and Marketing at the Morrell Ranch and Resort, calls the comfort and amenities to be found at the Grand Lodge equal to a “Hilton in the woods.”

Mr. Kroeger has been employed at the ranch since August of this year. He got the job after attending an event there. Mr. Kroeger is a Google Trusted Photographer. These are the photographers who give you the street view for Google Maps. You can find any building you want with these maps and even enter the buildings themselves. And so he naturally sought the Legacy Ranch on his mobile device. He didn’t find it. During the event he commented to owner Phil Morrell that a “map in 360” could only enhance the visitor’s experience of the ranch. Mr. Morrell must have been impressed with his know-how because Mr. Kroeger was offered a full time job “helping the business grow through virtual reality pictures.”

Mr. Kroeger allowed us to look around the area on foot and by vehicle and gave us a guided tour of the landmarks.

The resort is located about four miles northwest of Gallatin off of Hwy. MM (21708

Nickel Avenue). This is the highway, newly paved, that goes west past Casey’s. The highway ends and turns into gravel and you just keep going.

A little background on Phil Morrell

Phil Morrell bought the land in 2005 and over the years has acquired some 3,000 acres.

About 500 of those acres have been developed into the Morrell Legacy Ranch, which includes a lake, camping and resort area. The goal is to eventually develop all of the land.

Mr. Kroeger says his boss, Mr. Morrell, “has had some business success.”

He has had quite a lot of business success, actually, and is the founder and chairman of the Board of Morrell International.

Mr. Morrell contracted for eight military dining facilities in Iraq, providing up to 100,000 meals per day to U.S. troops. He has seven bottling plants across Iraq and his company has been the sole bottled water supplier to the US military since 2005. His company supplied housing to thousands of military and security personnel during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

A lifelong entrepreneur, Mr. Morrell has started other businesses in fields as diverse as home remodeling, publishing, landscaping, agriculture brokerage, and even a snowboarding company.

Mr. Kroeger says Mr. Morrell is not all about business; he is equally dedicated to helping others. He has initiated philanthropic projects in Iraq, post-Katrina Mississippi and earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

“It’s only five miles north of Morrell Ranch to I-35,” says Mr. Kroeger. “Phil could have built access to the interstate, but he didn’t. He wants people to drive through Gallatin on their way to the ranch. He’s looking out for the whole community.”

The work at the ranch is done locally and the help is hired locally, as much as possible.

Mr. Morrell is “good at bringing people together around water.” So it is only natural that

Morrell Ranch features at its heart a lake. It is called Swan Lake. It is man-made. You can swim in the lake, and boat and fish. Ten-pound bass are not unusual. The geese live there year-round, along with two swans. The namesakes have names themselves although Mr. Kroeger can’t remember them right off. He has a lot of names to remember. There are 15 full-time workers with jobs as varied as cattle rancher, horse trainer and guest coordinator. As for Mr. Kroeger, he does whatever the owner asks to be done. His job includes sales, marketing, promotion and technology.

The first thing a visitor to Morrell Legacy Ranch will see as you come down the gravel road is the Grand Lodge.

Mr. Kroeger says the foundation for the 100×80 square foot building was poured to give out-of-work local construction crews something to do.

“Mr. Morrell didn’t know what was going to go on it, but he wanted to keep them in business. It was a swimming pool for a while.”

It’s a rustic lodge with six hotel-style suites now. It has a tongue-in-groove floor, a library, a fireplace, and a collection of Indian artifacts, some of which were found during construction. The basement of the lodge has a movie room, a gaming room, an exercise room, a pool area, and a seasonal swimming pool. The suites are all decorated in different themes. All the rooms have DirectTV and some have fireplaces.

“The theme is American Indian/ranch,” says Mr. Kroeger. “We want people who come from St. Joe and Kansas City to have that ranch experience.”

He says 80% of the business so far has been weddings, youth and church groups, but corporations are beginning to arrive. The ranch is fully booked from the end of May to July in 2018.

“Weddings, family reunions, youth groups, and corporations are starting to come,” he says. “Missouri Quilt held a corporate meeting here in September. The Cameron Hospital is expected in October and November.”

Even though the lodge is the first thing you’ll see coming into the ranch, it isn’t the first place you want to stop if you’re planning to stay. You should drive past the lodge to the Guest Center. You will want to check in here and make your reservations. Amanda Loucks of Gallatin runs the center.

The Guest Center started out as a horse stable. It is deceptively small looking; it is not a small building at all. The Guest Center has a banquet area where the indoor weddings and reunions are held in a room with high vaulted ceilings and wooden beams.

Plans are underway to build a restaurant that will seat 140-150 in the back of the center.

Choices of where to stay

You have lots of choices where to stay at the ranch.

There’s the lodge.

Then there are eight cabins to stay in for couples or small families. If you stay in the cabins, you have access to the amenities at the nearby lodge.

You can spend a week or all summer in the luxury bunkhouse. There are four bedrooms and two baths in the bunkhouse. You have everything you need to keep house, ovens to cook and dishwashers to clean.

Or you can settle into a family cabin. There are nine of these and they can hold 80 or more people. The family cabins are located on the east side of the development and are shaped a lot like mobile homes. They were salvaged from a mining camp in South Dakota. They have all the amenities, sewer, water, electric, but are not as expensive as the cabins. They all have an outside grill.

If you don’t want to stay in a cabin or at the lodge, you can stay in a tepee. These should be set up in the campground area soon and the campground will accommodate about 200 people. You can camp out in a tent if you want. The improved campgrounds all have electric hook ups.

“It’s the best-kept-secret and we want people to know about it,” said Mr. Kroeger. “It’s a great offering, weekend package for $299, plus food.”

Choices of what to do

You shouldn’t lack for anything to do while you’re there. You have your choice of 25 activities. You can fish (fishing gear is provided), swim, canoe, play Frisbee golf, go hiking, skeet shooting, and horseback riding. There are 15 bikes available.

And of course there are the inside activities in the Grand Lodge, like billiards, and a swimming pool and spa and sauna and movies and games and a state-of-the-art fitness room.

“We are constantly building and expanding,” Mr. Kroeger says. “We have volleyball sand pits in the works. We have a giant hill on the ranch and it will be developed for sleigh riding and snowboarding. We may even get a snow maker and have skiing over the winter months.”

The ranch is big, though if you’re hearty you can walk from one end to the other. There are greenhouses, orchards, beehives and vineyards. And there are little critters in pens, baby alpacas and peacocks. Scot Grey is the animal entertainer for the petting zoo.

The Morrell Legacy Ranch is a working ranch. They raise low line cattle with 100-150 head; and alpaca and deer for market. There are 20 deer, 20 alpaca, six horses, and two Shetland ponies. Hunting is permitted, but well off the 500 developed acres. The farm is 100% organic. No pesticides. The cattle are given antibiotics.

Mr. Kroeger says he is an American/Italian from New Jersey who fell in love with

Kansas City, where he lived for 15 years, then Gallatin, and then Morrell Ranch. He has seven children. His daughter is Naomi Ruth, who is working on the ranch with Social

Media Marketing and will be attending BYU, lives on the ranch; he has two boys finishing school in Kansas City, one daughter on a church mission in Boise Idaho; two in college; and one working at the Ford plant.

Phil Morrell’s daughter and son-in-law, Nate and Annie Fogth, are the operations managers at the ranch. Mr. Morrell and his daughter live at the ranch. His daughter is a senior at Gallatin HS.

Mr. Kroeger says he has a personal goal for St. Joe, Kansas City, North Missouri, all of the region and beyond —

“I want people to know how wonderful this place is. We invite everyone to come, hold your wedding and family reunions here, build stronger relationships with your family, and have a good experience in the great outdoors.”