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NAVA 50: San José, California
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Campbell—Pruneyard Plaza
October 14–16, 2016
Note: Because NAVA 50 was the 50th Annual Meeting of NAVA it was cause for great celebration for the participants, looking back over their 50 years of growth and flag scholarship.
Details and additional photos of NAVA 50
The NAVA 50 Flag
The white canton and red star and red chevron symbolize the state of California using elements of the state flag. The red and gold chevrons at the fly represent the Spanish heritage of San José. The blue/white/red combinations at the top and bottom recall the NAVA flag, and symbolize NAVA’s role in documenting the continuity between past and present as part of its vexillological mission. It is based on a design by Tony Burton.
– Meeting flag description, with proportions and designers – Flag Research Quarterly: 11 The Flags of NAVA.
– NAVA 50 Flag Design Contest and Proposals – The 50th meeting generated 52 meeting flag proposals.
– Fifty Years of NAVA Meeting Flags 1969-2016 – Special handout at NAVA 50 (PDF File).
Organizing Committee: Peter A. Loeser (chairman), Peter A. Ansoff, James J. Ferrigan III, Edward B. Kaye, and William J. Trinkle.
The George Henry Preble Lecture
Preble Speaker Dr. Tamara Venit-Shelton and Jim Ferrigan beneath the Evergreen Home Guard No. 2 Flag (full-size replica)
“The 1861 Settlers’ War,” Dr. Tamara Venit-Shelton, Associate Professor of History, Claremont McKenna College. Delivered October 14, 2016 in the auditorium of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library on the campus of San José State University (SJSU), which also serves as a branch of the San José Public Library.
– Her address is summarized in NAVA News 49, no. 4 [issue 229] (2016): 4.
– Download a 12 page PDF copy of Dr. Venit-Shelton’s presentation notes with illustrations.
The Presentations
- The Global Legacy of the Estrella Solitaria, Cuba’s Lone Star Flag – Hipolito Rafael Chacón, Ph.D., Montana.
- Flag of Remembrance 1865 – Rodney D. Deal, Michigan.
- Branding the Nations – Michael Green, Texas.
- The Flag of the NSDAP and the Third Reich: The Impact of a Well Designed Flag – John M. Hartvigsen, Utah.
- Show Me the Race of the Nation Without a Flag, and I Will Show You a Race of People Without Any Pride: Flags of Black Nationalist Organization – Steven A. Knowlton, M.L.I.S., M.A., N.J., New Jersey.
- The Intersectionality of Flags, Religion, and the Gay Pride Movement – Amy J. Langston, North Carolina.
- Which Way Forward? Directionality in Flag Perception and Design – Scott D. Mainwaring, Ph.D., Oregon.
- Geographies of Vexillology: Learning Geography Through Flags – Carlos A. Morales-Ramirez, M.S., M.A., Singapore.
- An Introduction to Comparative Civil Religion: The United States and the Soviet Union – Anne M. Platoff, M.S., M.A., FF, Calif. & Scot M. Guenter, Ph.D., LF, FF, WSF, FVAST, California.
Special Activity
Saturday’s Tour of the Collections turned out to be a very popular and enjoyed activity for all involved.
The NAVA 50 special activity was called the “Tour of the Collections” on Saturday afternoon. The NAVA 50 participants had the opportunity to view and photograph an amazing display of treasured flags from the private collections of Peter Ansoff, Bill Trinkle, Annie Platoff, Jim Ferrigan, and Phil Allen. The owners of the collections were there to explain their history, provenance, value, and importance.
Ben Zaricor and his daughter, Tanya Veninga-Zaricor, brought four rarely-seen early flags from the famed Zaricor Flag Collection, including a 1780 thirteen-star flag with single ring and center star, a mid-Federal period U.S. merchant ship ensign, a 1876 Centennial patriotic U.S. flag, and a 1896 SemiCentennial Bear Flag originally from the collection of Judge John Ball of San José.
The Whitney Smith Dinner
The Whitney Smith Dinner was held in the Orchard Room at the DoubleTree Hotel.
The keynote speaker was William Trinkle who talked about the Bear Flag Museum website and shared items from his collection of unusual California Bear flags.
Announced Awards and Honors
Captain William Driver Award – Hipolito Rafael Chacón Ph.D.; Amy J. Langston (Honorable Mention)
John Purcell Award – Scott Mainwaring Ph.D.
Kevin Harrington Award – Carlos A. Morales-Ramirez, M.S., M.A.
Annual Business Meeting
Log in to access the minutes posted in the Members area
Fiscal Sponsors:
President’s Reception: CRW Flags; Preble Lecture: Colonial Flag Co.; Driver Award: The Flag Research Center; Harrington Award: The Middlesex Institute.
Attendees: (60)
| John Adcock | Henriette Essapo | Pete Loeser | Charles Spain |
| Phil Allen | Jim Ferrigan | Jack Lowe | Jeff Spain |
| Mary Ann Docktor-Smith | Michael Green | Scott Mainwaring | Bill Trinkle |
| Mary Ansoff | Scot Guenter | Maxime Meka Meka | Pete Van de Putte |
| Carmen Barcena | Deanna Hartvigsen | Rich Monahan | Vanessa Van de Putte |
| Luc Baronian | Kevin Harrington | Ed Mooney | Tanya Veninga-Zaricor |
| Chris Bedwell | John Hartvigsen | Carrie Mooney | Cristina Victor |
| Hugh Brady | Lee Herold | Carlos Morales-Ramirez | Cindy Williams |
| Jim Brown | Richard Hobart | Annie Platoff | Brice Wilson |
| Al Cavalari | Dianne Hobart | Michael Platoff | Judy Wilson |
| Rafael Chacón | Bea Jones | David Ott | Kim Wilson |
| Alan Cooper | Ted Kaye | Gary Randall | Ben Zaricor |
| Rodney Deal | Gedi Kiflezgi | DeVaughn Simper | |
| Federico Drews | Steve Knowlton | Greg Slayden | |
| Janene Eller-Smith | Amy Langston | Chris Smith | |
| Roger Eriksen | Marianne Loeser | Randy Smith |
* Flag image drawn by Clay Moss – Flag photo from Flag Research Quarterly 11: The Flags of NAVA