King arrived in Jacksonville in 2006 after playing basketball for Billy Donovan\u2019s Gators at the University of Florida. <\/p>\n
In 2013, he founded Scratchwerk Tech \u2014\u00a0a research and development company that says it \u201cuses the power of imagination to discover equitable applications for communities of color.\u201d <\/p>\n
He\u2019s spent the last two decades serving on boards and helping grassroots organizations grow \u2014 all with the goal of building a strong community. <\/p>\n
Last week, the Duval County School Board agreed to sell the century-old Annie R. Morgan to King\u2019s nonprofit, the MyVillage Project, for $1.25 million. King plans to restore the beloved building nestled into the heart of Jacksonville\u2019s Woodstock neighborhood<\/a> as a hub that serves its community.<\/p>\n When the board\u2019s 7-0 vote in favor of the sale finally appeared on monitors around the room, supporters erupted in cheers \u2014 but they were soon quieted by an appeal from board Chair Charlotte Joyce to follow the rule prohibiting outbursts.<\/p>\n Planning ahead<\/p>\n The board approved sale agreements for two of the schools it closed last summer: Annie R. Morgan, and also Kings Trail Elementary. That school will go to Dream Finders Homes for $3.75 million.<\/p>\n Kings Trail sits on about 12.5 acres in San Jose, near the St. Johns River. The sale agreement says Dream Finders wants to raze the building and use the land to build a residential subdivision with about 100 single-family homes.<\/p>\n Annie R. Morgan, though, will find new life as a tech incubator for the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n MyVillage Project<\/a> is a community project that connects nonprofits, creators, investors and families to serve children in Jacksonville.\u00a0It has received grants from all kinds of organizations, including the Walton Family Foundation and the Gates Foundation.<\/p>\n King says the organization has spent the last several years focused on building a team of nonprofit partners, educators and families dedicated to helping students learn vital tech skills like coding and robotics. He sees a coming shift toward artificial intelligence, too, and so MyVillage and the project at Annie R. Morgan will look for ways to integrate what King calls \u201cthe AI economy coming inside this work.\u201d<\/p>\n The Coding in Color program<\/a> \u2014 a partnership with the MyVillage Project, the 100 Black Men of Jacksonville and the city of Jacksonville<\/a> \u2014 is an example of the kinds of endeavors Annie R. Morgan will provide space for. Teenagers and young adults involved in Coding in Color learn tech entrepreneurship skills.\u00a0<\/p>\n King says about 300 students have been through the Coding in Color program so far, and many of them are now in college studying computer science and building their own businesses, which have collectively generated more than $1 million in revenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been looking for a home to expand the idea of merging community with the latest technology,\u201d King tells Jacksonville Today.\u00a0<\/p>\n He says that when the space at Annie R. Morgan is up and running, MyVillage will have plenty of room for everything from office space for startups to after-school robotics programs to classes for adults, like classes that will help small-business owners learn AI skills that help them create tools for their businesses.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the growing areas that we see is adults that are anxious or nervous, or really just trying to get their hands around this, this new concept of AI and all the things that come with that,\u201d King says. <\/p>\n And so MyVillage wants to \u201cmake sure that small business owners and adults have a good concept \u2014 not just as consumer. Obviously, we want folks to know how to use ChatGPT and Claude and that kind of stuff, but we want them to be able to develop their own tools and and be able to build the things that they need.\u201d<\/p>\n The real MVP<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/My-Village-1024x683.jpg\")
The Jaguars Foundation awarded MyVillage Project CEO Ronnie King with a $10,000 check and Super Bowl LX tickets in celebration of the organization\u2019s effort to inspire change in Jacksonville and throughout Florida. King was recognized during a Jaguars game Dec. 14, 2025. | Photo by Will Brown<\/p>\n