NAVA 55

The 55th annual meeting of the North American Vexillological Association was held via Zoom. Because of the limitations on travel imposed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, NAVA’s second virtual meeting took place Saturday, June 12, noon to 8 PM EDT.  Once again the NAVA annual meeting in St. Augustine was rescheduled to June of 2022, as NAVA 56.

NAVA 55 Program
NAVA 55 Printable Schedule
NAVA 55 Photo Gallery
NAVA 55 Report in Vexillum 15

Videos of the main program elements (presentations, keynote, panel, and tour) are available on NAVA's YouTube Channel.

NAVA 55 Flag:

The NAVA 55 flag was designed by Joshua Hodge, chosen from among 52 submissions by a panel of judges led by Nolan Eickhoff.  On a red field, a white chevron turned with its point to fly with height and width equal to the flag's dimensions and a blue triangle with height and width equal to 2/3 the flag's dimensions.  On the blue triangle, a gold rectangle and trapezoid with the shortest side of the trapezoid turned towards the rectangle.  The red, white, and blue are references to NAVA's flag with the top turned to the hoist.  The gold triangle and trapezoid represent a camera.  These shapes are often used together in the icons of teleconferencing apps, including Zoom and Facetime.

Organizing Committee: Amber Atteberry (chair), Peter Ansoff, Stan Contrades, and Ted Kaye.

Special Events/Presentations:

The NAVA 55 program included a variety of special presentations.

• The Panel Discussion: Inside the Mississippi Flag Change discussed how vexillologists rarely participate in flag-change first-hand, but when Mississippi replaced its flag in 2020, NAVA members had an inside role.  This special panel of Mississippians included NAVA members Clay Moss (flag design and history consultant), Jim & Brenda McIntyre (A Complete Flag Source, flag store in Jackson), and Chase Quarterman (graphic artist and writer), plus flag commission members Betsey Hamilton (teacher and civic leader) and T. J. Taylor (former policy director for House Speaker Gunn).  They shared their insights into the process that resulted in the newest U.S. state flag.  Chris Eckels, an Utah attorney, moderated the panel.
• The Keynote Presentation was made by C3 Presents, one of the largest concert promoters in the US, who created the 2021 Inauguration Flag Display.  C3 Presents executives Emmett S. Beliveau and Jason Dudey explained how they led the team that created the capital flag exhibit that was enjoyed by millions of viewers across the globe for the 2021 U.S. Presidential inauguration.
• The Virtual Tour explored the Exhibit Center of U.S. Coast Guard Curatorial Services Program.  Established in 1790 as the Revenue Marine, the U.S. Coast Guard has a rich history as one of the first branches of the U.S. armed services.  The service’s Heritage Asset Collection includes over 20,000 pieces from its predecessor organizations; the Revenue Cutter Service, the Life-Saving Service, the Lighthouse Service, the Bureau of Navigation, the Steamboat Inspection Service, and the modern Coast Guard.  The tour provided a quick overview of the collection managed by the Curatorial Services Program at the Exhibit Center in Forestville, Maryland, with special close-up looks at selected historical flags.
  
• The NAVA 56 Preview gave a sneak peek at NAVA 56, scheduled for June of 2022 in St. Augustine, Florida.  Four years in the planning, this meeting will mark the first time that NAVA has held a meeting in Florida.  2022 also marks the 200th anniversary of Florida becoming a territory.

• Teaching About Flags in Lyle, Minnesota – Tyler Amick
• Clinging to the Past: National Unity and the Rejection of Rifat Chadirji’s Redesigned Iraqi Flag – John Andrews
• Vexillological Notaphily – John Bertrand
• The Six Little-Known Deal-Breakers of Bad Flag Design – Brian Cham
• Neḥushtan at Home: a Forerunner’s Persistence – Bard Cosman
• Topics in Vexillology - On The Fringe – Arthur Etchells III
• Of Singaporean Vexillology: Flag Knowledge in Southeast Asia’s Lion City –
Carlos Morales-Ramírez (published in the Middle States Geographer, 54)

Vexibits Presentations:

Vexi-Bits, short “show-and-tell” flag-related stories and displays of flags of interest, were presented by several NAVA members.  The Vexi-Bits sessions, a very popular tradition at NAVA annual meetings, were moderated by long-time NAVA member and Chesapeake Bay Flag Association President Jack Lowe.

• Flag use by Coalition Forces in Afghanistan — Stan Contrades

• The Cao Đài Flag — Bard Cosman

• Collecting Flags in Croatia —  Željko Heimer

• Alternative and Mashup Flags — Chris Maddish

• Dealing with Collections after a NAVA member dies — Ted Kaye

• The Freedom Flag (9/11 Memorial) — John Riley

• Conserving the Guidon of the 26th United States Colored Infantry Regiment (Civil War) — Gwen Spicer

Fiscal Sponsors:

NAVA 55 was free to attend, but holding it was not without costs. Individual sponsors helped with those expenses. These “sponsors” provided financial support for the meeting, and in return received a 4”x6” meeting flag, pin, and other materials from NAVA 55.

Driver Award Underwriters: The Bear Flag Museum, CRW Flags, Elmer’s Flag & Banner, The Flag Guys, Herold Flags, Jeff R. Bridgman Antiques, and Regal Flags and Poles.

Sponsors:   Sarah Addison, Phil Allen, Adib Altallal, Tyler Amick, Peter Ansoff, Carmen Barcena, James Barr, Levi Barraclough, Ralph G. C. Bartlett, Paul Bassinson, Lee Beneze, John Bertrand, Daniel Broh-Kahn, James Carlin, Barry Cosgriff, Bard Cosman, Eric Davis, Fred Drews, Tom Edwards, Jonathan Epstein, Arthur Etchells, Andrew Carl Finch, Gary Flanders, John Fowler, Aracelli Fullem, David-Roger Gagnon, William Gifford, Lee Goodson, Michael Hale Gray, Shawn Guerrero, Zachary Harden, Melissa Heeke, Lee Herold, Charles Hillers, Joshua Hodge, Ed Jackson, Anna Jankowski, Bea Jones, Sean Kelly, Steven A. Knowlton, Joseph Latshaw, Rich Leibson, John A. Lowe, James Lyons, Grant MacArthur, Christopher Maddish, David B. Martucci, Melvin J. Mason, Gregory S. Matson, Daniel McCloskey, Timothy McCloskey, Iain McHugh, Samuel Henry Medina, Heyden Ely Morales Santiago, Carlos A. Morales-Ramirez, David Moshier, Padraic Murphy, Mark Nabong, John Niggley, Dan Niven, Chris Pawson, Dean Pruiett, Anne Quito, Jon Radel, Robert Raeside, Gary Randall, Sophie Rault, Gavin Rehkemper, Timothy Schoonover, Lawrence Blaine Shaffer, Daniel Sheffner, Ben Smith, Paolo Spica, Chris Sweet, William J. Trinkle, Julie Welch, Steve Wheatley, Cindy Williams, Matthew Yosgott, Alex Zimmerman

Attendees: (131)

* companion
Flag image by Joshua Hodge; photo by Ted Kaye