[RTZTAS]

I have experienced problems with the composite companies, both as a collegiate member in the late eighties and most recently as an advisor to a collegiate chapter. It doesn't sound like there is much difference no matter which company you choose. I would advise that if you are the officer responsible for signing the contract, no matter how much of a deal they give you, do not sign for more than 1 year of service. What is the incentive for the company to behave if they know they have you locked in for 2 or 4 years? Also it lets the next group of officers decide who to use based on the service they received the previous year. And one last piece of advice. SAVE ALL COPIES OF ALL CONTRACTS AND NEVER EVER TRASH THEM! The chapter I advised decided to change composite companies and the first one claimed that the officer (who was long gone) had signed a two-year contract. We couldn't find a copy of the contract but finally did speak to the former officer who was positive she didn't sign a 2-year contract. Include this in your officer training after elections, to not ever sign more than a 1 year contract, consult your advisors (sometimes they know of a blacklisted company that the group on a national level should not use due to past bad experiences), and keep all copies of contracts.