The Great Waters Association of Vexillology (GWAV, pronounced ''gwave'') is an organization devoted to

vexillology Vexillology ( ) is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.Smith, Whitney. ''Flags Through the Ages and Across the World'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print. The word is a synthe ...

, the scientific study of

flags A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic desi ...

. GWAV has a particular focus on flags of the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. The group was established May 11, 1991, in Kettering, Ohio, a suburb of

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

. Initially, the members met with the intent to establish a local chapter of the

North American Vexillological Association The North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) is a membership organization devoted to vexillology, the scientific and scholarly study of flags. It was founded in 1967 by American vexillologist Whitney Smith (1940–2016), and others. It ...

(NAVA). When NAVA decided to not have chapters, the group set out to be independent. Initially, the group covered the US states of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

and

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. The name acknowledges the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

and Ohio River as vital components of this region. In 2000, the State of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

was added. The organization's flag was designed in 1991 and was modified with the addition of Illinois. It currently depicts five inverted chevrons or “V”s on a blue background. The chevrons (which resemble the letter V) represent vexillology, and alternate in color from white to red indicate each of the states covered by the group. The group met semi-annually, normally in May and November, and from 1990 through 2012, published ''Flagwaver, a Journal of Vexillology'' (ISSN 2327-2368) each June and December. The journal featured articles about flags used within the five states comprising the organization. Among those highlighted were the flags of Springfield, and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in Illinois;

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

and Grand Rapids in Michigan;

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

and

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Ohio and

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. In May 1999, the membership established the Commodore Award and the Flying Colors Award. The Commodore Award is given for significant individual contribution to the field of vexillology, especially in the GWAV states, and the Flying Colors Award is presented to a flag designer and adopting entity for excellence in flag design. Through 2012, the Commodore Award has been presented twice and the Flying Colors Award once. In 1999, GWAV became one of the 51 members of

International Federation of Vexillological Associations The International Federation of Vexillological Associations (FIAV, French language, French acronym: ''Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques'') is an international federation of 53 regional, national, and multinational assoc ...

, known by its French acronym FIAV (Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques). GWAV hosted the North American Vexillological Association's 1995 annual meeting in

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, lies to its immediate north across the Ohio and Newport, to its east across the Licking ...

, the 2000 annual meeting in Lansing, Michigan, the 2004 annual meeting in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, and the 2012 annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio. On June 15, 2012, one of the charter members, Dr. John M. Purcell, died at the age of 79. Following this, interest in maintaining the group waned as membership had dropped to only four members and they decided to suspend operations on April 4, 2013.

Notes

External links

GWAV at NAVA.org
{{heraldry International Federation of Vexillological Associations Heraldic societies Semiotics organizations Vexillological organizations