Explore a captivating lecture that pays tribute to John Harnad and delves into recent developments in association schemes. Begin with a personal account of the speaker's 45-year friendship with John Harnad, highlighting the many facets of his influence. Then, dive into an overview of recent work on higher rank association schemes, providing insights into this mathematical field. Gain valuable knowledge from this 57-minute presentation delivered at the Centre de recherches mathématiques (CRM) as part of the Workshop on the Role of Integrable Systems dedicated to John Harnad.