by Andrew Critchfield, The News-Enterprise

When Michelle Harmon and her family tried to come up with a name for their new ice cream shop two years ago, the phrase “Family Fun” came out ahead of other ideas. Now named “Family Fun Cafe and Ice Cream,” the Radcliff business puts a heavy emphasis on the idea of family.

The shop has several activities for families to enjoy, but for Harmon, the family atmosphere of the business exists largely because it is family-operated. She said much of the inspiration for the business came from a desire to share her family’s idea of fun with the community.

“We put a lot of us into this business,” Harmon said. “This business is an extension of us.”

Harmon said family always has been a big part of her life. In a blended family with her husband, Joe, the family consists of 10 children. Harmon said she also grew up in a household with 10 children and she said her mother also was a foster parent.

Harmon said growing up with so many siblings inspired her desire to get involved with youth programs. Originally from Kansas, Harmon said she has been involved with schools, teen shelters and youth ministries.

She also worked with Rad­cliff City Councilman and Sign of the Dove Church Pastor Edward Palmer on youth-at-risk programs in the community.

“He really showed me how to hone in my desire to help young people,” Harmon said.

Now with her own ice cream spot, Harmon’s way of helping children is through a scoop of ice cream and a place to play. When the weather is warm, it’s not uncommon to find inflatables, pony rides, talent shows and more outside the shop.

Joe Harmon said adding more and more elements to the business has allowed his wife to stretch her creative abilities.

“She just ran with it,” he said. “She has brought so many creative ideas to bring the community together.”

Fun at the ice cream shop doesn’t rely much on modern technology, however. The shop makes a point of motivating face-to-face interaction for customers through the use of “conversation sticks.”

Each table has a bucket full of Popsicle sticks with conversation starters and questions. This, combined with the shop’s vintage look and lack of televisions, is a way for people to revisit a time before an attachment to smartphones and other devices, Michelle said.

The shop hosts an assortment of weekly events such as mother-and-son ice cream socials, a girls’ book club, art classes and more. The shop also is a venue for community fundraisers for local nonprofits and organizations, and it provides a monthly spotlight for nonprofits.

Michelle said she hopes the shop becomes more of a hub for community engagement events.

“Since I’m working all the time, I can’t really go out and do a lot of those things,” she said. “I can’t fix everything but what I can do is try or at least get the word out about it.”

While Michelle said she enjoys hosting events and providing entertainment for customers, she said simply serving up ice cream is sometimes the best part of the job.

“When you give someone ice cream, you can see a 60-year-old turn into a 6-year-old,” she said.

Though the shop still is young, Michelle was recog­nized at the 2017 Hardin Coun­ty Entre­pre­­neur­ial Awards Ban­quet in Novem­ber. Michelle said she hopes to set examples for young women in the community. Her advice for them: Let go of self-doubt.

“Overcome that obstacle within first,” she said. “You won’t give up, you won’t worry about what other people say about you and you won’t let other people define you.”