The Croatian Heraldic and Vexillological Association held its 26th Tribune on Friday 12 October 2018, marking the World Vexillology Day, otherwise celebrated on 1 October, in the Bogdan Ogrizović Library in Zagreb, when William Belanich gave lecture titled »US State Flags in the American Society«.
The United States of America and its place in the world have made its national flag well-known and easily recognized. While the fact that each star in the U.S. flag represents one of 50 states is also well-known, the flags of those states are, perhaps, not as well-known. William Belanich talked about the flags of the states in American culture with a concentration on the flag of his native state of Ohio.
William Belanich, M.A., B.A., is a member of the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) and has served as the Secretary of the Great Waters Association of Vexillology (GWAV). He has been interested in flags since childhood and enjoys learning about flags and collecting them. William Belanich holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Dayton (Ohio, USA) with a major in Political Science and a minor in Spanish. Mr. Belanich also holds a Masters Degree in Political Science from the University of Cincinnati (Ohio, USA) with a concentration in International Relations. Mr. Belanich has also studied the Spanish language at Centro Linguistico Conversa in Santa Ana, Costa Rica. Mr. Belanich is a former lecturer in Political Science at Sinclair Community College, Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Belanich taught courses in American Federal Government, Ohio Government,
Political ideologies, Comparative Politics, Political Violence and International Relations. Mr. Belanich’s travels have included several European countries as well as India, Senegal, Ghana, New Zealand, Mexico and Canada. Mr. Belanich is from Ohio and has lived most of his life in the southwest part of that state around Dayton and Cincinnati.