Your Motivational Power Hour! is coming to the Minnesota Fringe Festival August 3-13. Over the next few days, I’ll introduce you to all of our wonderful speakers. And because I have no shame, I’m starting with me.

Ed Burke in suit coat and yellow dress shirt

Credit: Kiera Burke

Ed Burke

Ed worked for two decades in information technology before being fired for throwing a fish (a 19 inch walleye, to be exact) at his boss. He won a landmark lawsuit for unjust termination on the grounds that HR had told him to do this. The company attempted to defend themselves by claiming that (a) while HR had in fact suggested that throwing fish on the job was a good idea, he should have understood not to take this literally and (b) in any case, he shouldn’t have used a live fish.