Neal St. Anthony: Global connections inspired Minnesota small-business owner to write book

Gail Shore, who rose from reservation agent at Republic to sales and communications manager at Northwest Airlines, left corporate life to start her own communications practice 33 years ago.

Eventually she also started a small nonprofit that is making the world a little better.

She traveled plenty during her Northwest years. Her business, Shore to Shore Communications, was successful enough that she was able to take weekslong excursions to Cuba, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal, China, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Ghana, Mali, Syria, Morocco, Tanzania and a couple of dozen other countries.

She has written a book about what she has learned, "Opening My Cultural Lens," which was released in the fall.

Her experiences, usually with a guide, were mostly safe, intriguing, heartening and transformative over years of witnessing much. Shore writes with insight, compassion, humor and brevity of several dozen explorations.

"Happiness comes from family, faith and community," Shore writes in her book, which includes stunning photographs. "Many people who live within the most basic, modest means don't need all the stuff that we think make us happy.''

Shore writes about the times she was tailed by government security. She felt uncomfortable at times, including in police states such as North Korea, Syria and Iran.

"I like to go to a lot of places that most people don't want to go," she said. Curiosity and good planning generally overcame any trepidation.

Shore also found that most folks she encountered, whether religious or not, follow the golden rule: Treat others as you would wish to be treated.

"And most importantly, while we all may look, dress, speak or pray differently, people everywhere are more alike than we are different," she concludes in her key learnings. "Understanding this is the path to compassion and empathy."

Shore also has turned her travel into a time-tested learning curriculum that has benefited thousands of school kids, their parents and others over the years.

Since 2005, she has been the unpaid CEO of Cultural Jambalaya, a small nonprofit that introduces other cultures through award-winning videos and insightful study guides. Cultural Jambalaya is a volunteer-driven nonprofit with an annual budget under $30,000 that has created several "Windows & Mirrors" educational video series.

Mike Ciresi, the business litigator and philanthropist, has been a Shore client for 30 years and supporter of Cultural Jambalaya.

"She has opened herself up to learning about cultures and people," Ciresi said. "She understands how people divide themselves. If we had more people like her we would reduce the tribalism we see in the world. I admire the hell out of her."

One of my favorite chapters in Shore's book is her visit to Russia in the early 1990s. It includes a couple of ex-KGB agents who were losing their jobs to government downsizing of the day.

The agents had helped an American businessperson, a friend of Shore's, retrieve money she had lost to a Moscow swindler. And the former agents, although nervous about their future, treated Shore and other guests to vodka and caviar at a party at one of their homes.

Shore has other heartening tales of locals inviting her into modest homes around the world to share what they had. She peppers historical information with humanity.

Mary Kaeding, marketing manager at Kraus-Anderson Construction, has used Shore as a publicist and consultant since 1997. She and the company also support Cultural Jambalaya.

"Gail Shore is meticulous and prepared for every possibility," Kaeding said of Shore's work. "And it's wonderful and inspiring that she's documented her travels and photos in this book.

"What a difference it can make when we connect with people who aren't just like us.''

Shore, 75, who self-financed the book, acknowledges that she had the resources and time for travel, the nonprofit and writing — partly because she was single and lived modestly.

She also considers herself blessed for her travels, the clients and a network of friends and supporters who helped her along the journey.

She's cut back some on her business during these COVID-slowed years, enabling her to synthesize years of journals, photographs, notes and memories into the book, her "legacy piece.''

Shore also is a pragmatic optimist who acknowledges global issues, usually brought on by autocrats and war mongers. Not their people. Most people want to get along.

"I hope [Opening My Cultural Lens] will also open other people's cultural lenses," Shore said. "Regardless of who we are and where we live, we want the same things in life. We agree on many issues. We are more alike than we are different."