I recently received a call from the North Pole. The person in charge of gift giving wanted to know if I had any suggestions for what the people affiliated with the credit union world should be given.

So I put my thinking cap on and found that just like in real life some were easy to pick gifts for and others very hard.

After much thought, I forwarded the following list to S. Claus with the following suggestions:

Debbie Matz: Peace in credit union land.

Rick Metsger: Garry Kasparov's book on winning at chess.

Mark McWatters: A suit of armor.

Dan Berger: A new supply of stationary.

Jim Nussle: Being selected for Oprah's Book of the Month Club.

Gigi Hyland: A one million dollar endowment for the Foundation.

Bill Cheney: A starring role in the Happy Song video.

Cutler Dawson: A change in his field of membership to include the armed forces of every U.S.-friendly country.

Jim Blaine: The NCUA Citizen of the Year Award.

Paul Gentile: Another merger partner.

Keith Leggett: A prepaid credit union membership.

All credit union members: CD rates of 8%.

To all those who made Santa's list, may you enjoy the best of holidays.

And all of us must remember, it's the season of giving and we must be generous to those in need. As we enter the New Year with hope may it bring peace on earth and good will to all.

Michael E. Fryzel is an attorney in Chicago and a former NCUA board member and chairman. He can be reached at [email protected].