Last modified: 2020-05-23 by rob raeside
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Founded in 1967, the North American Vexillological Association (Association nord-américaine de vexillologie) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study of flags and their cultural, historical, political, and social significance. It organizes an annual meeting in which vexillologists showcase their research and offers awards to recognize and promote excellence in vexillological scholarship.
image by Mark Sensen
Designed by Harry Manogg
At NAVA 11, in 1977, the practice of designing special flags for annual meetings became a tradition. Before that, no special flags were designed and they used this general NAVA Flag at these meetings.
| NAVA 1 | Purchase, New York (USA) | November 18, 1967 | ||
| NAVA 2 | Chillum, Maryland (USA) | October 12-13, 1968 | ||
| NAVA 4 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA) | October 10-11, 1970 | ||
| NAVA 5 | Ottawa, Ontario (Canada) | October 23-24, 1971 | ||
| NAVA 6 | Chicago, Illinois (USA) | October 28-29, 1972 | ||
| NAVA 7 | Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (USA) | November 2-4, 1973 | ||
| NAVA 8 | Baltimore, Maryland (USA) | October 12-14, 1974 | ||
| NAVA 9 | Cleveland, Ohio (USA) | October 12-14, 1975 | ||
| NAVA 10 | Toronto, Ontario (Canada) | October 8-10, 1976 |
The organizational flag has been honored and flown at all meetings since 1967.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Whitney Smith
NAVA was organized on June 3, 1967, in Boston, Massachusetts. At this organizational meeting the by-laws and constitution of NAVA were written and approved; It has been designated as "NAVA O" This flag, briefly used as the first flag of NAVA, was actually the flag of Doctor Whitney Smith's Flag Research Center.
Although this meeting has now been named NAVA O, (the Letter "O" is for "Organizational"), at the time of the meeting it was referred to as simply the "Organizational Conference." This meeting also has been referred to as "NAVA 0" (Number Zero), but because this apparently has sometimes been misinterpreted as a renumbering to correct a mistake, it has now been changed to NAVA O. There was no mistake in the numbering of the annual meetings because the organizational meeting was not an annual meeting. The first actual annual meeting occurred when the initial "Bylaws" were adopted on November 18, 1967, now refered to as NAVA 1 later in the same year.
Sources: Flag Research Quarterly 11: The Flags of NAVA, page 40, and the NAVA O page on the NAVA website.
Pete Loeser, 16 July 2018.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Whitney Smith
This flag was used both for the ICV 3 (International Congress of Vexillology) Convention, sponsored by FIAV, and NAVA 3. It was designed by Whitney Smith.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Steve Stringfellow
On June 10-14, 1977, both NAVA 11 and ICV 7 was held in Washington, D.C. This special flag, designed by Steve Stringfellow, shows the NAVA colors (blue, red, and white) in an emblem resembling a lowercase "N", the "77" in 1977, and the number "11".
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Charles Brannon
NAVA 12 met in Montgomery, Alabama, in October 7-9, 1978 using this unusual flag Designed by Charles Brannon.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Alfred Znamierowski
NAVA 13 met in Salem, Massachusetts on October 5-8, 1979, using this flag Designed by Alfred Znamierowski. It had a field of 13 alternating red and black horizontal stripes on which is centered a witch riding a broomstick. It refers to the host city's famous witchcraft trials, and to "triskaidekaphobia", the fear of the number 13.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Dorothy Clayborne
The NAVA 14 flag was designed by Dorothy Clayborne. The flag is the NAVA flag defaced in the bottom center by a blue fleur-de-lis within a yellow circle, a reference to the host city's flag. NAVA 14 was held October 3-6, 1980, in St. Louis, Missouri.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Whitney Smith
This square flag, design for both NAVA 15 and ICV 9, was designed by Whitney Smith. The flag shows an upright chevron, similar to the NAVA chevron, but in Canadian colors (red and white). Within the chevron is the maple leaf from the Canadian flag. The convention was held on August 24-27, 1981, in Ottawa, Ontario (Canada).
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Alfred Znamierowski
NAVA 16 was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, between October 8-10 in 1982. This flag, designed by Alfred Znamierowski, featured a yellow pennant with a double circle of 16 stars on a field of black. The black and yellow are Pittsburgh's colors.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Phil Allen
NAVA 17, held in New York, New York, between October 14-16, 1983, chose a flag Designed by Phil Allen. The flag features New York City´s colors (blue, orange, and white) and an apple representing the city´s nickname, "The Big Apple". Within the apple is hidden the number 17 reminiscent of the cutout tokens used by the New York City Transit Authority in the mid-20th Century.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Ralph Holberg
NAVA 18 was held in Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada), on October 5-7, 1984. This flag, designed by Ralph Holberg, is a mixture of elements from the Vancouver and NAVA flags. The crossed axe and gavel in the green pentagon are taken from the Vancouver flag and form an "X" for the Roman numeral for ten. The chevron forms a "V" for the Roman numeral for five, and the wavy bars are the Roman numeral "3" to denote the 18th meeting.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Ralph Holberg
NAVA 19 held in Kansas City, Missouri (October 11-13, 1985) chose this flag designed by Ralph Holberg to represent the conference. The flag depicts the "heart" logo of Kansas City´s former flag using the colors of the Kansas City and NAVA flags. Contained within the Kansas City logo is the Roman numeral for 19.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Jim Ferrigan
NAVA 20, located in Trenton, New Jersey, started a new NAVA tradition in 1986. Held between October 10-12, the flag, designed by Jim Ferrigan, was "swallow-tailed" to indicate a decade had passed since the first meeting. Since that time each decade meeting flag has been swallow-tailed. Jim's meeting flag incorporates "V"s for Vexillology that form "XX" (Roman numeral for 20), with the NAVA flag in the canton. The blue and gold reference the municipal flag of Trenton.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by James Croft, Jim Ferrigan and Whitney Smith
The NAVA 21 / ICV 12 Flag was the joint effort of James Croft, Jim Ferrigan and Dr. Whitney Smith. Held between October 12-16, 1987 in San Francisco, California the flag shows the phoenix and Mural crown that appear on the San Francisco flag. The background resembles the NAVA flag. This meeting was also the ICV 12 meeting.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Ralph Holberg
NAVA 22 (Oct. 7-9, 1988) was held in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The flag, designed by Ralph Holberg, depics white yacht sails on a light blue background. Flying from the mast is a stylization of the NAVA flag as a pennant above the international maritime signal flags for the letters P, N, and H for Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by John Purcell
NAVA 23, held in Dallas, Texas, on October 20-22, 1989, featured a flag designed by John Purcell. The meeting flag colors are those of the United States, Texas, Dallas, and NAVA. The star appears on both the Texas and Dallas flags and rests on the division with two points in the blue field and three in the red, indicating the 23rd meeting.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Sandra Armstrong
Toronto, Ontario (Canada), was the site of NAVA 24 in 1990. The flag, designed by Sandra Armstrong, includes the colors of NAVA and Toronto. The Trillium is used as the official symbol of Ontario.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Kevin Harrington
The 1991 NAVA 25 meeting, held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, featured a flag designed by Kevin Harrington. The flag shows blue and white, the Minneapolis colors, and is in the famous NAVA chevron shape. The yellow star in the center of the flag represents Minnesota framed by a red ribbon that forms the number 25.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by John Gámez
NAVA 26 (October 9-11, 1992) took place in San Antonio, Texas, at the Emily Morgan Hotel. For the NAVA 26 flag, the organizing committee selected a flag based on a design submitted by John Gámez of San Antonio. Horizontally divided blue over green, the dividing line is fimbriated white renders a silhouette of the Alamo, San Antonio's most famous landmark. A red "V" - for vexillology, also fimbriated white, is superimposed over the field, and bears two white, five-pointed stars on the upper portions of each arm and a single white, six-pointed star at the base. The total number of star-points is twenty-six. The colors reflect San Antonio's "Tex-Mex" heritage. The design was selected from 15 entries submitted by four vexillographers.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by John R. B. Szala
NAVA 27 was held in Portland, Maine, on October 8-11, 1993 at the Holiday Inn by the Bay. The NAVA 27 flag was designed by John R. B. Szala of Caribou, Maine, and includes the NAVA colors of red, white and blue. White is for the purity of intent, red for the passion for research, and blue for the dedication to the principles of the organization. The red and white concentric circles express the ever expanding field of vexillology and all embracing outreach for present and future members. The blue star-points represent the earth's continents, the extended one for North America. The white pine tree is the official tree of Maine, the host state of NAVA 27.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Donald T. Healy
In 1994, NAVA 28 was held in Portland, Oregon using a flag designed by Donald T. Healy. The flag shows the yellow beaver on the blue background, such as on the back of the Oregon flag. The NAVA chevron is depicted in the Portland flag's colors, blue, white, and green.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Secundino Fernandez
NAVA 29 (October 6-8, 1995) was held in Covington, Kentucky, at the Quality Hotel Riverview. The NAVA 29 flag was designed by Secundino Fernandez. The NAVA chevron appears in red with the letter "C" above. Both the waving blue lines and "C" appear on the flag of Cincinnati, the principal city of the region where the convention was held.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Richard A. Kenny and James J. Ferrigan III
NAVA 30 took place in Sacramento, California, in 1996 using a flag Designed by Richard A. Kenny and James J. Ferrigan III. The flag is divided in half horizontally. The top half is white with the California bear and star in red taken from the California flag. The lower half is red with the Roman numeral for 30 in yellow, with a blue shadow on the flag. The flag was "swallow-tailed" to indicate a decennial meeting of the Association.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by John M. Purcell
NAVA 31 Meeting to place in the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, using a flag Designed by John M. Purcell (October 10-12, 1997). The flag is the Chicago flag design bent in the shape of the NAVA chevron. The stars are grouped 3-1 to denote the 31st meeting.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Jim Croft
Jim Croft designed the flag for the NAVA 32 Meeting (October 2-12, 1998) taking place at the Lowe´s Le Concorde Hotel in Québec City, Québec, Canada. The flag shows the fleur-de-lis on the Québec flag. The NAVA chevron appears as a crenellated line, which appears as a border of the Québec City flag, and represents the walls of the old city.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by Truman G. Pope
The NAVA 33 Meeting and the 18th International Congress of Vexillology both took place at the Laurel Point Inn in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, on July 28 through August 2, 1999. The flag was designed by Truman G. Pope. The flag shows a red, white, and blue NAVA chevron dividing the field. The area outside the chevron is dark blue with yellow waves, similar to the ones on the British Columbia flag. The field inside the chevron is divided in half vertically and colored red and white. On the field is a counterchanged maple leaf.
image by Clay Moss, 9 July 2018
Designed by John M. Purcell
Taking place at both the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center and Michigan State University, the NAVA 34 Meeting (October 6-8, 2000), used a flag designed by John M. Purcell. The flag shows two large letter "M" one in red and another in white, denoting the Roman numeral for 2000, the year of the meeting. Hidden in the middle of the "M" is the NAVA chevron. The background of the flag is blue, like the Michigan flag.