business

A longtime business publicist whose exotic-travel bug morphed into educational tools for schoolkids has won a national "Telly Award."

Cultural Jambalaya, a nonprofit that uses international photography to promote understanding, was founded by globe trekker Gail Shore, whose self-funded solo treks focus on the traditions, rituals and religions of threatened cultures around the world. 

Shore's Cultural Jambalaya and the producer, Twin Cities' Tremendous Entertainment, won the Telly in the non-broadcast educational and cultural category for their DVD "Windows & Mirrors."

"After many years of traveling the globe, particularly to more-remote and lesser-known places, I began to realize that these photos and stories held the power to bring cultural understanding and acceptance to a larger audience," Shore said.

"Windows & Mirrors" includes images from distant regions including Myanmar, Bhutan, Namibia, New Guinea and Tibet. The DVD and online study guide, available at www.culturaljam.org, was developed to meet state teaching standards and is intended to spark imaginations and interest in diverse cultures.

In the Twin Cities, the native tongues of students include some 100 languages. 

"The more we know about each other's background, history and religion, the more respectful we can become of one another," Shore said.

The Telly Awards, which considers 13,000 annual entries from around the globe, uses a judging panel of 350 industry professionals to honor the work of ad agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operators and corporate video departments.

Little Canada-based St. Jude Medical Inc. has made it into an exclusive club for the first time: It's now a Fortune 500 company.

The medical technology company, which has $4.7 billion in annual sales, was ranked 445 on the Fortune list, which ranks by revenue. The Fortune issue will be available May 3. St. Jude CEO Daniel Starks said in a statement the company was "honored" to be part of the elite group.

May 2 is Lemonade Day for up to 4,000 budding Twin Cities entrepreneurs.

Lemonade stands will dot the metro area that day in a program designed to help kids learn the virtues of running their own business. Sponsored by Houston-based nonprofit Prepared 4 Life and the Liemandt Foundation, a Minneapolis-based grass-roots community development organization, the program partners a adult mentor to help kids develop a business plan, pick locations, set goals, open a bank account, repay investors and make charitable contributions. Registration can be done at the 29 M&I Bank locations in the Twin Cities or at www.lemonadeday.org.

Proceeds from Lemonade products sold on April 24 at 200 metro restaurants will go to the Lemonade Day program, which is in 11 cities. This is the first year in the Twin Cities.

Carol Grothem, vice president for broadcast media at the Compass Point Media division of Campbell Mithun, has been named to the national board of the Alliance for Women in Media.

St. Paul-based Kohnstamm Communications has been named "Boutique Agency of the Year" by the nationally known Holmes Report.

And the folks who gave us Minnesota Law & Politics for 20 years (which carried the subtitle, "Only our name is boring") are holding a goodbye event called "The Party's-Over Party."

NEAL ST. ANTHONY, JANET MOORE, DAVID PHELPS