“I didn’t really visit Dayton much growing up,” Hall, who was born and raised in the Hamilton-West Chester area, said. “I honestly didn’t know much about it, except for what I heard from others.”
Hall graduated from Lakota West High School in 2008 and went to Miami University. She studied communications with a minor in metalsmithing — purely because her dad was in the jewelry business and her passion was classic jewelry.
With a degree in strategic communications under her belt, Hall began building a career in non-profit fundraising. In college, she volunteered with the local rotary and on student activities and discovered she really enjoyed giving back. She also worked in Hamilton for a program developed to encourage low-income families to learn how to maintain their homes.
“Through my interactions I became acquainted with Shannan Boyer, who is the president of Scooter Media,” Hall said. “I was hired as an account supervisor.”
Hall started working at the northern Kentucky based company in 2020 and was intrigued because a big part of her job is storytelling, something she grew to love while working for non-profits.
“I always hope to solve a lot of the world’s problems and of course you have a good chance of doing that if you work with organizations already making a difference,” Hall said.
Smith and Hall grew closer, and they decided to move in to together a year and a half ago. But Hall had her doubts about the Dayton she thought she knew.
“The entire conversation I was having in my head was that Dayton didn’t have anything worthwhile,” Hall said. “I was concerned that I wouldn’t enjoy living here at all. That’s so far from the case.”
Today, Hall said she tells everyone she knows that Dayton is an amazing place. In fact, her fiancé, originally from Loveland, decided to stay after college because he liked the area so much.
In 2021, Hall had surgery at Cincinnati Children’s to repair a Pectus Excavatum (a congenital chest wall deformity), a condition that causes shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain and poor posture.
“I spent most of 2022 recovering from the surgery,” Hall said. “I had blood clots that caused a stroke and two pulmonary embolisms.”
After spending two weeks in the hospital, Hall was released to work on rebuilding mobility, memory and speech damaged by the stroke.
“When Alex and I moved in together, I wrote myself a letter that detailed the things I was going to do that year,” Hall said. “I wanted to become the healthiest person I have ever been.”
Part of this process was goal setting. Hall had a physical therapist who recommended she move more to engage and stretch out her lungs. She joined a boot camp club and a gym and decided to hike 100 miles outside at different Dayton parks.
“I noticed that through exercise and engaging my brain, I was seeing improvement with my cognitive function,” Hall said. “And my goal of getting out and walking helped with my chest condition.”
Hall especially enjoyed the Five Rivers MetroParks throughout the area, with her favorite being Cox Arboretum, also the closest to her home. She said it’s amazing how much being out in nature can help your mental health and self-esteem.
“Being able to disconnect from all the stress of the world for a little bit and spend time outside has improved my life significantly,” Hall said.
Hall has always loved the outdoors. As a child she showed horses through the 4H Club but because of her chest condition, it hurt too much to walk or hike. She was never able to appreciate how much a simple walk outside can improve mood, physical and mental health.
“We are both drawn to stay in Dayton because of our community and the support,” Hall said. “I have lived in Oxford, northern Kentucky and West Chester and have never found a community like we have here.”
The couple started attending Crossroads Church in Bellbrook and fell in love with the congregation. Today they both volunteer for the church, which is now located in the Dayton Mall in the former Sears store. Matt Castleman, the community pastor of the church, will be performing their wedding ceremony.
“It’s empowering to see how lives are changed every day here,” Hall said. “I want to shout it from the rooftops to give Dayton a chance. The history is amazing, and the community and access to nature it not something every city has. People don’t give Dayton the chance it deserves.”
Contact this contributing writer at banspachwriter@gmail.com.
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