Brainerd Veteran Biking In Habitat 500 To Raise Money For Fellow Veteran

A United States Army veteran from the Brainerd area is preparing for the challenge of a lifetime. Scott Hall is biking in the Habitat 500 to raise money for a new Habitat home for a fellow veteran and his family.

But Scott Hall was never much of a biker.

“My wife Tessa and our daughter Maren, they thought I was kind of crazy that I was going to try and do this bike ride,” said Hall.

That all changed May 15th when he started his training for the Habitat 500 bike ride.

“I’ve thought of doing the Habitat 500 for quite a few years and then I just thought that this would be a good challenge to help raise awareness for veterans,” explained Hall.

The Habitat 500 is an annual bike ride through Habitat for Humanity that brings together 30 Habitat affiliates in Minnesota to raise money and awareness for the organization. Scott will start his ride on July 14 and bike for three days, a total of 250 miles, and then his coworker, Jessica Walters, will take over to bike the remaining 250 miles.

“It starts in Hermantown and goes from Hermantown to Hibbing. Hibbing to Aurora and then Aurora back to Hermantown,” Hall said.

Scott is the manager at the ReStore at Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity and is riding for Dennis Peterson, Jr. and his family, to help Habitat build them a new safe, affordable home.

“Dennis and his two kids, they’ll each have their own bedroom finally where they can each be able to go at night and close their door, do their homework in a safe, affordable home,” Hall explained.

Hall decided to participate to raise money for a family in need, but to also raise awareness of the mental health challenges that many veterans face.

“For about 14 years I didn’t tell anybody about the struggles that I was having. Not even my wife or none of them here at Habitat knew just how much I was struggling,” said Hall. “So just trying to get out and be an ambassador for veterans and doing something for other than myself.”

Hall hopes that his ride is an inspiration for all those veterans who might be struggling.

“I struggled for so long that I don’t want anyone else to feel like they don’t have a way to talk to anybody, to reach out,” Hall added.

If anyone is interested in donating to Scott Hall’s ride, checks can be mailed to Habitat for Humanity, P.O. Box 234, Brainerd, MN 56401. Write “Habitat 500” in the memo section.