Gabriella “Gabby” Morris has been an employee of the City of Marion Splash House since 2016. She began working as a Lifeguard, then in 2017 became the Assistant Lifeguard Manager, and in 2018 was promoted to Lifeguard Manager.
Morris, who has a couple of loved ones with special needs, initiated a special evening event at the Splash House catered specifically for individuals with disabilities or unique needs. The Splash House, although designed to be accommodating to individuals with special needs, hosted the “SplashABILITY” event on July 25th, 2018, celebrating these individuals by having a lower entry fee (free for the first 100 people), and offered features that would be more inviting to special needs individuals such as lowering the intensity of the wave pool and lowering the volume of the music. There were special activities, a pureed food station, and yard games during the event that Morris spearheaded.
More than 200 people attended the special evening event. Splash House Director Andy Davis said they hope to do more events like SplashABILITY in the future. “It was great to see her hard work pay off, and we plan to expand on the success of the event next year,” Davis said. “Gabby has been a very dedicated employee of the Splash House for the last three summers. He added, “She felt passionate about doing a special event to include everyone, and it was great to make the Splash House especially enjoyable and comfortable for those with disabilities.”
Morris will be a senior at Ball State University in the fall.
