Seen & Heard: Rochester speaker is two-time Hall-of-Famer

Some people are educators; some are authors, and some are entertainers.

Randall Munson, of Rochester, is a combination of all three — and more. He is a certified speaking professional, a business executive, computer scientist, best-selling author of nine books, adjunct university professor at the University of Wisconsin, IBM's top educator, master magician, ventriloquist and a professional clown.

Now, he can add "Speakers Hall of Fame inductee" to his resume. Munson was inducted into Hall by the Minnesota Chapter of the National Speakers Association in May.

"It was such an honor because you are nominated and voted on by previous inductees," Munson said.

This isn't even Munson's first brush with a Hall of Fame. His registered clown image has been displayed in the Clown Hall of Fame and the Smithsonian Institution.

Throughout his professional speaking career, Munson has spoken in 40 countries on six continents and performed in the Minnesota Vikings halftime show, MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Disneyland, Disney World and the White House. Such a popular draw, Munson even turned down two White House invitations (due to scheduling conflicts) before accepting the third.

"I've spoken to audiences ranging from 10 to 60,000 people," Munson said. Through his "Magic of Selling!" program, he has helped businesses and corporations increase their sales by millions of dollars. He has produced seminars on how to deliver great presentations, keynotes on humor and creativity, webinars about better webinars and founded International Creativity Month, celebrated in January each year.

Find Munson on Facebook or visit his website: www.creativelyspeaking.com .

Power brokers

Who doesn't love a good power trip?

Rochester's Matt Bushman is the owner — and Ruler — of EPIK Games, the company that created "Power Trip: The Ultimate Party Game."

I wish I could explain it better; it really is a game you have to play to get the full effect. It's a fast-paced card game that lets you enforce crazy and hilarious rules, play out of turn and use action and rule cards to defeat your competition. You can see a video of people playing the game on YouTube .

Power Trip has received the esteemed Parents' Choice Fun Stuff Award — a designation Bushman said he is "excited and honored" to have received. The game also received the Family Review Center Seal of Approval.

Since I first talked to Bushman, at the time EPIK launched the game about a year and a half ago, they've added new art to the game box, simplified instructions and added new house rules created by fans. They also added more than 30 new free rule cards to the iPhone and Android apps.

EPIK also has two new surprises coming soon — a House Party Expansion Pack, which allows an additional six players to join the fun, and a Game Breaker Edition, which adds an entirely new set of actions and surprises to the game.

You can find more information about the game at EPIK's website, www.epikgames.com , or its Facebook page, www.facebook.com/PowerTripGame .