NAVA 58

NAVA 58: St. Paul, Minnesota 
Capitol Ridge Event Center
September 20–22, 2024

NAVA met in the state's capital, as Minnesota celebrated its new flag. 

See the full Program Booklet registrants received.

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NAVA 58 FLAG

The flag of NAVA 58 blends together three influences: the flag of St. Paul, the new state flag of Minnesota, and the flag of NAVA.  The design is based on an original submission by NAVA member Patrick Barritt, revised by the NAVA 58 flag selection committee with feedback from participants in the Flag Design Forum.

The reversed chevron is a unique feature borrowed from the flag of Minnesota, a stylized representation of the shape of the state.  When the flag is hung vertically, it also echoes the shape of the city of St. Paul.  The chevron represents a “V” for “vexillology” to establish a firm connection with the flag of NAVA and many other NAVA meeting flags that also feature a chevron.  The two stars represent the Twin Cities—Minneapolis in the west and St. Paul in the east.  The five-pointed star comes from the St. Paul flag; the eight-pointed star fly references the star on the flag of Minnesota and in the rotunda of the state capitol building.  They read "5-8" for NAVA 58.  The red, yellow, and blue come directly from the flag of St. Paul, where the red represents the spirit of the city, the yellow represents a bright future, and the blue represents the Mississippi River.

The red is Pantone 186 C, the blue is Pantone 281 C, and the yellow is Pantone 109 C.

Brian Cham chaired the flag selection committee, which comprised Bill Aldrich, Adib Altallal, John Bertrand, Alan Hardy, Will Levin, Joe Pugliese, and Winn Wasson.

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The Presentations

Rattlesnakes and Rebels: The Confederate History of the “Don’t Tread on Me” Flag – Laura Brodie, Lexington, Virginia
Unraveling the Tino Rangatiratanga Flag (Māori Flag) Through the Eyes of its Designer – Brian Cham, London, England
The Simchat Torah Flag:  A Messianic Survival – Bard Cosman, La Jolla, California
What Banner Shall We Raise?  Of Scholarship and Design in Vexillology – Perry Dane, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania
Statistics in Vexillology:  A Quantitative Look at Stars on Flags – Greg Dean, Westminster, Colorado
U.S. State Flags:  Current, Historical, and Proposed – Alan Hardy, Nottingham, England
U.S. State Flag Change:  Vexillologists on the Inside – Ted Kaye, Portland, Oregon
Flags in the Special Collections of Princeton University Library – Steven A. Knowlton, Skillman, New Jersey 
Exploring Innovative Methods in Geographical Vexillology via Arts-Based Research – Carlos Morales-Ramírez, West Chester, Pennsylvania
Flags Flying at 28,000 km/hour:  An Introduction to Flag Usage on the International Space Station – Annie Platoff, Goleta, California
The Star-Spangled Angle:  Minnesota’s Flag Design Process from the Inside – Andrew Prekker, Tyler & Jenae Michaletz, Brian Cham, and Ted Kaye, various        
The Real Origin of the Indiana State Flag – David B. Reddick, Camby, Indiana
Flag Design Principles Derived from NAVA Flag  Rating Surveys – Minh Tan, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Evolution of the Ceremonial Flag of the Commonwealth Games – Dean Thomas, Beebe, Arkansas

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TOUR

The tour on Saturday afternoon visited the Minnesota State Capitol and the Minnesota Historical Society's History Center, both with extensive flag collections of interest to participants.  Attendees walked there from the host hotel, creating a parade of flags!

See the slide show on flags in the collection of the Minnesota Historical Society.

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Fiscal Sponsors:

President’s Reception & Flags: CRW Flags
Driver Award: Bear Flag Museum, CRW Flags, Dixie Flag & Banner, The Flag Guys, Herold Flags, Jeff R. Bridgman Antiques, and smALLFLAGs.com
Preble Lecture Host:  Minnesota Historical Society

The keynote speakers, Rev. William M. Becker and Lee Herold, described their 30+ years of "Campaigning for a New Minnesota Flag".

Vexibits
Vexi-Bits, short “show-and-tell” flag-related stories and displays of flags of interest, were presented by several NAVA members and moderated by "Flagged for Content" host Andy Richardson during Sunday's lunch.

Awards and Honors

• Captain William Driver Award –Bard Cosman
• Vexillonnaire Award –Rev. William M. Becker & Lee Herold

The George Henry Preble Lecture:  "Minnesota’s New Flag:  The State Emblems Redesign Commission’s Story"
Speakers:  Luis Fitch (commission chair), Rep. Mike Frieberg (commission member), Aaron Wittnabel (commission member), Hon. Steve Simon (secretary of state), Kent Whitworth (commission member), Andrew Prekker (flag designer); Moderator:  Dave Berger

In-Person Attendees: (112) 

Phil Allen

Adib Altallal

Tyler Amick

Alison Andrews*

Peter Ansoff

Mary Ansoff*

Brett Anthony

Bryce Anthony

Amber Atteberry

Jeff Atteberry*

Patrick Barritt

Paul Bassinson

Meg Bassinson*

William Becker

John Becker*

David Berger

Berdette Berger*

John Bertrand

Mylene Bertrand*

Wilson Best

Laura Brodie

Nathaniel Budijono

Al Cavalari

Brian Cham

Susan Christenbury

Stan Contrades

Patricia Contrades*

Joseph Cooke

Pat Cooke*

Alan Cooper

Bard Cosman

Perry Dane

Laura Danielson

Bonnie Danielson*

Gregory Dean

Shane DeGroy

Emily Dehmer

Luca Demirağ

Mary Ann Docktor-Smith*

Tess Douty-Amick*

Elizabeth Dove

Fred Drews

Henriette Essapo*

Tom Fahres

Dennis Fazio

Jim Ferrigan

Tom “Duke” Gaffey

Burl Gehris*

Michael Green

Carol Guy-Stapleton*

Alan Hardy

Lee Herold

Barbara Herold

Graham Houser

Brandon Hundt

Violet Jackson

Dylan Jones

Joseph Judge*

Greg Kauffman

Ted Kaye

Rebecca Keays

Katie Keister*

Steven Knowlton

Chris Kwolik

R. Joseph Latshaw III

Stuart Ledbetter

Peter Lenagh

Will Levin

John Lowe

Karen Lowe*

Grant MacArthur

Rick Magee

Melvin Mason

Thomas Mason

Janice McCall*

Maxime Meka Meka
Jenae Michaletz (speaker)
Tyler Michaletz (speaker)

Richard Monahan

Carlos Morales Ramírez

Francesco Nelhoff

Dennis Nelson

Erika Nelson

Nava Nelson

Cris Nelson*

John Niggley

David Ott

Annie Platoff

Michael Platoff*

Andrew Prekker

Evan Prekker*

David Reddick

Andrew Richardson

Grey Skythe

Randy Smith

John Stanley

Bill Stanley*

Jonah Stapleton

Minh Tan

Dean Thomas

William Trinkle

Pete Van de Putte

Chris Weicker

Julie Welch

Amelia Welch*

Kellie Weyand*

Steven Wheatley

Cindy Williams

Ashley Ypsilantis*

Brittany Zais*

Alex Zimmerman

Alexia Zuliani*

 

* companion

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Streaming participants:  Lucas Apicella, Jay Bright, Barry Cosgriff, Coulter Dittman, John Emond, Arthur Etchells, Mark Fink, Zachary Gardiner, MJ Holder, Anna Jankowski, Alden Jencks, Richard Leibson, Kelly Nield, Gwen Spicer, Bruce R. Stewart, Mihai Turcu, Marco Vanzetti, Stuart Wamsley

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Sponsors:  Claudia Allemeier, Levi Barraclough, Logan Callender, Barry Cosgriff, Tom Edwards, Bryan Firvida, Connor Freeman, Holly Gustavson, Mattingly Holder, Anna Jankowski, Rich Leibson, Pete Loeser, Michael Lubina, David Martucci, Gregory S Matson, Daniel McCloskey, Timothy McCloskey, Roy C Pinette, Chris Sweet, Charlotte Ward

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