As CUNA's representative on the board of the NationalCooperative Business Association, I would like to respond to BillSlach's letter in the Sept. 9 issue asking to what degree NCBA isfostering cooperation and interaction between credit unions andother co-ops and whether the credit union voice is beingsufficiently heard within the organization.

First, let me express my appreciation to Slach for keying intothe issue of greater cooperation among co-ops. It is certainly animportant issue and one that is a definite priority for NCBA, as itis for CUNA through our involvement with NCBA and the work of ourcooperative alliances committee, which seeks to foster mutuallybeneficial business- and advocacy-related partnerships betweencredit unions and other cooperatives.

Most recently, CUNA's cooperative alliances committee has beenworking to develop a pilot project between credit unions and foodcooperatives, based on the example of SPIRE Credit Union's affinitycredit card and ATM relationship with the Wedge food co-op inMinneapolis that NCBA CEO Paul Hazen highlighted in his letter tothe editor last week. Paul has personally worked with CUNA'scommittee on this project and NCBA has been an invaluableresource.