Meet Your Neighbours is a series about familiar faces who live, work and play in Minden.

A
picture frame hangs in the living room of the home Skylar Pratt shares
with her parents, Duane and Tracey, that reads: Live fully, Laugh often,
Love deeply. Sitting together in their warm and inviting space in
Minden, the family clearly laughs often and loves deeply. But it’s
Skylar who is sharing why, despite an initial shyness and tendency to be
anxious about the unknown, she is so well-known to so many in town:
because she lives fully.

For
example, her winter schedule looks like this: on Mondays, she
volunteers at the elementary school, and curls in the afternoon. On
Tuesday mornings, she works at the library, and in the afternoon, heads
to Organic Times, where she has worked since she was a teenager. On
Wednesdays, she bowls, and on Thursdays and Fridays she’s out and about
with friends from Community Living. 

“I like the people here, and like to volunteer a lot,” she said, of what makes her get so involved in the community.  

Skylar
was raised in Minden, where she was a student at Archie Stouffer
Elementary School before attending Haliburton Highlands Secondary
School, which she graduated from about nine years ago. Throughout the
school year, she now volunteers at her old elementary school’s library,
preparing meals for the Breakfast Club, and also volunteers to water the
flowers on the school property both throughout the school year and
during the summer.
“I enjoy helping the kids and enjoy seeing the
teachers every day,” she said, noting it’s enjoyable too, to water the
flowers so that she contribute to their growth. 

Skylar’s
skills in putting things in order led her to the position at the Minden
library, which began last year and was initially planned to be a
short-term position but has been extended so that Skylar is still there,
helping to organize books. Her organizational skills have also been of
assistance at Organic Times, where Skylar has worked for more than a
decade, making her the longest-running employee at the downtown health
food store. 

As
an athlete, much of Skylar’s participation has been based on an idea
of, “come out and see if you like it,” said Yvette Brauer, Haliburton
County Red Wolves co-ordinator.

“Skylar
is willing to take a chance and try new things,” said Brauer, noting
she’s a friendly and supportive teammate and an asset to the teams she’s
on. 

In
September 2005 when she was 13, Skylar became a Special Olympian when
she joined the Red Wolves to participate in five-pin bowling. Her
accomplishments in the sport have been numerous: in 2015, she qualified
for the provincial 2016 games in Guelph, where she helped the team win a
gold medal. In 2017, she attended the nationals in Prince Edward Island
with her team, and came home with an individual silver medal and a team
silver.
The trip to P.E.I. was filled with sightseeing when
athletes weren’t participating in competition, and while there, Skylar
was able to enjoy another favourite pastime: shopping.      
“All the
shopping, all the jewelry, even the chocolate-covered potato chips,”
she recalled when asked what she loved during the trip.  

For
the past few years participating in weekly bowling, Skylar has
consistently scored the highest average in the female division, and her
mom noted she’s a competitive bowler who regularly wins against her
family. 

“I bowl about 200,” Skylar told the Times of a score that is fairly consistent.
In
2007, curling was introduced to the Red Wolves and Skylar quickly
proved to be what Brauer said is a “terrific curler.” Skylar’s team
participated in a provincial tankard in Cobourg in the B Division, where
they won the provincial championship and brought home the banner now
displayed in the Minden Curling Club. 

“Skylar was not too keen to try her hand at golf,” said Brauer. “Her father suggested she just try to see if she liked it.”

Now,
she’s an up-and-coming golfer who golfs weekly and participates in
tournaments, said Brauer. Skylar also plays softball and shuffleboard,
and has been known to play darts at the Legion. 

Despite
all of this community involvement, Skylar also makes time for the other
activities she loves: reading chapter books and manga (comics or
graphic novels designed to be read backwards); music, especially Green
Day – her cat is named B.J. for lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong – Katy
Perry and Taylor Swift; video games that she’s quite adept at playing on
her computer and phone while simultaneously watching TV; and movies,
especially animations and old sitcoms and movies. 

She’s
a natural with kids – the Breakfast Club students presented her with a
birdhouse as a gift at the end of the year, and she said she adores
being an aunt to her three-year-old niece, who is learning everything
she needs to know about Disney princesses through her aunt’s guidance.
The Pratt house sees almost 300 kids at Halloween, and Skylar greets
each of them at the door.

“I always grab my costume in Value Village,” she said proudly.

An
avid shopper, she said she likes Minden’s selection of stores, and also
shops on Amazon, providing a wish list to her mom about two months
prior to her birthday.

Her
parents describe her as outgoing, easygoing, a good person, and
community members who know her well like her
former-educational-assistant-
turned-friend Tracey Benson said she’s
exceptional, polite, and, quite accurately as Skylar often adorns
herself with jewelry, “a sparkling diva full of bling, inside and out.” 

Skylar herself gets the last word on what she wants people who might only know her familiar face to know about her. 

“I am happy,” she said. “I love our town and all the friends I have made … I think we live in a great town.”