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Scoopin' on the side | Teacher and coach chills during the summer with a side job

Michael Klucher shapes young minds during the school year and promotes ice cream during the summers.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - From his top, tie and hat, Michael Klucher is distinctly Scoop. He’s the “old time” retro ice cream man that so many Arkansas ice cream lovers could recognize in any crowd. While Klucher plays the part of Scoop all year long, summer is the time where he really gets to go “all in” for the job. It’s a role that Klucher said he feels was meant for him.

“I like to feel like maybe I was born for the part,” Klucher said.

For his role as Scoop, Klucher does commercial work and travels throughout the state to events promoting Yarnell’s.

“Scoop is the brand and the face of Yarnell’s at this moment so when I get to events I’m a character,” said Klucher. “Yes, I am doing public relations and trying to push the brand but at the same time I’m dealing with the fans of the ice cream which are most often kids.”

In addition to Yarnell’s events, he's also a regular guest on morning television shows doing fun segments. He has been a regular guest on THV11 while serving as Scoop over the last six years.

While serving as Scoop tends to take up most of his summer free time, from August to May he's focused on working hard in the classroom. Klucher has spent the last 21 years as a teacher in the North Little Rock School District teaching theater and stagecraft and coaching the girls’ soccer team. Klucher said his job in the classroom helps him to be a better Scoop.

“It’s a great opportunity to be able to actually do the things I’m teaching to my students,” he said. “It makes me feel comfortable as this character to interact with kids wherever we go in the state or out of the state.”

While his primary gig during the summer is working as Scoop, he also does community theater and dinner theater.

“I do quite a bit of acting with Murray’s Dinner Playhouse,” he said. “That’s a great thing about being a teacher and the type of teaching that I’m doing because it opens you up to other things that you can do and being on stage is wonderful.”

Klucher said he is truly a teacher at heart and seasoned actor for the fun of it. He knows the world is his stage for his beloved character, Scoop. For Klucher. it's the summer job of his dreams.

“I’m an extremely lucky man to be doing what I’m doing,” he said.

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