Ben, Stephen: I think that this article raises legitimate concerns; however, as someone who's been on both sides (school FAA and lender rep) I don't see lender participation in state associations as sinister as your article portrays. As a lender representative (I am no longer associated with that employer), I served on a state and regional association board. In one role, I was on the conference committee, in another, I was a non-voting member of the board. In both roles, I was there to volunteer for the organization only. I never marketed products in those meetings. Of course, a certain amount of "good will" was created by those volunteer activities. One thing I agree on is that it is troublesome to have vendors in association executive council voting roles. Some associations limit vendor volunteer activity to non-voting roles. Even with the most honorable intentions on the part of a vendor/executive council leader, the perception of a conflict of interest is there.