In the early 1980s, as the NAVA (North American Vexillological Association) membership was growing, there was a move to establish regional chapters where members could get together between NAVA’s annual meetings. Although this never happened, several independent regional associations were started. The mid-Atlantic region had several active flag enthusiasts and CBFA was informally founded on November 6th, 1982 and formally founded on November 13th, 1993.
Among the founding members were Nick Artimovich, Grace Rogers Cooper, Harold Langley (the latter two of the Smithsonian), Jon Radel, and Tom Carrier. The Flagship; a short lived newsletter was published in 1993 and 1994. CBFA is a full member of the International Federation of Vexillological Associations (FIAV) since July 3rd, 1995. CBFA was dormant for 7-8 years and was revived in 2005. Serving as President for many years Jack Lowe FF who oversaw correspondence, planning, coordinating and finances for CBFA stepped down in 2023. Taking over from him is the current leadership team.
Some of the highlights of meetings over the years was the 1993 White House tour led by the then-just-retired Chief Usher of the White House, the late Rex Scouten. There were two joint meetings with Great Waters Association of Vexillology (GWAV), the midwestern group: Carnegie, PA (the Civil War Room of the Carnegie Library) in 2008 and Wheeling, WV (Independence Hall) in 2010. In 2011 we provided the volunteer force for the International Congress of Vexillology (ICV-24) which we co-sponsored with NAVA at the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, VA. In 2013 we had an all-day session at the Library of Congress. Many notable meetings are sure to come.