October has been a month noted for its many observances. We'veall enjoyed the Columbus Day holiday and are now primed forHalloween this weekend, but did you know that October was alsoNational Breast Cancer Awareness Month, National Book Month andeven National Chili Month?

Of course, for all of us in the credit union community, we knowOctober as Cooperative Awareness Month and the third Thursday ofOctober as International Credit Union Day.

We marked the latter just last week. I was at Credit Union Housein Washington D.C. where along with the CEOs of the World Council,CUNA, The Filene Institute, and the National Cooperative BusinessAssociation--we presented a Web-TV discussion on the role ofcredit unions in today's world. Paul Berry, the host of theprogram, posed a variety of questions. Why do we celebrate thecooperative heritage of credit unions? Are credit unions succeedingin their mission? Where are they falling short and where do we gofrom here?

The hour-long discussion was certainly one of the best I'veheard in the last 10 years. While it offered listeners a variety ofhonest thought-provoking insights and perspectives on what creditunions mean to their members and the communities which they serve,I suspect it also generated reactions that may have been less thanpositive.

For instance, if what I hear within the system today isaccurate, there are many who would shun an International CreditUnion Day celebration. That's because these executives are deeplyconcerned about the vitality of their credit union, fearing thatthere is no way they can continue to maintain the profitability ofthe business model given the assessments they are facing, shrinkingmargins and a stagnant lending environment. Their view of thefuture is not bright and I fear they are loosing all hope. But thatshould not have to be the case.

Surely, any one individual attempting to wrestle with whatpresents itself as an insurmountable challenge can easily find himor herself loosing all hope. But who has dictated that thischallenge be faced individually? Let's not forget that our verynature as financial cooperatives provides the remedy we seek.

The real message demonstrated during last week's Web-TV programfrom Credit Union House was one of cooperation. By workingtogether--cooperatively--we muster a strength that none of us canachieve individually. Hearing the CEOs from WOCCU and CUNA joinvoices with our cooperative cousins at the NCBA and the researchersat the Filene Institute, proved to me that the future can bepromising and successful. It all depends on our willingness toengage one another in honest and respectful dialogue; to deepen thechannels of communication we have with one another and throughoutthe industry, and most important, to stretch out a helpingcooperative hand to those credit union execs who feel alone andisolated. People helping people implies helping oneanother as well.

The ongoing vitality and success of credit unions will not bedetermined by the absence of strict regulations, insuranceassessments, economic turmoil, or even taxation. Rather, it will beone determined by us; how we draw from our heritage and the extentto which we are willing to cooperate with each other.

Walt Laskos, DE, is the principal of The LaskosGroup.