2025 EMPOWER West Volusia
Description
Women’s Leadership in Action: The Story of Reconstructing Hulley Tower
Over the years, Women Empowered has been a platform for sharing individual stories of triumph and challenge. This next event brings together four women to provide multiple perspectives on a shared experience—one that ultimately expanded into a cause bigger than imagined.
The experience: leading the campaign to historically reconstruct Hulley Tower, whose bells rang from the Stetson campus throughout central DeLand for 70 years before it had to be taken down to its base after hurricane damage in 2005. Woven into the story is the initial impetus behind the campaign: Stetson alumni wanted a tangible way to remember their three classmates who died in an avalanche in 1979 in Innsbruck, Austria. All these years later, it was time to tell the story and to Stand Up Hulley. The belltower will be dedicated in early 2026.
Join us for an inspiring evening about leadership, emotional connection and engagement—and how to make all the pieces come together to change a community.
Featuring: Alea Figueroa, filmmaker with And You Films; Karen Schmitt Roberts, Stetson alumna and Innsbruck traveler; and Rina Arroyo and Amy Gipson, longtime Stetson fundraisers and leaders.
Watch the documentary before or after the event: https://www.stetson.edu/other/soul-of-stetson/
Event Date:
07-31-25
Event Time:
05:00 PM - 07:00 PM EST
Location:
Venue 142
142 N. Woodland Blvd.
DeLand, FL 32724
Contact Person:
DeLand & Greater West Volusia Chamber of Commerce
(phone: (386) 734-4331)
Details:
Women Empowered is an initiative of the DeLand & Greater West Volusia Chamber Commerce in partnership with Stetson University. This initiative is dedicated to engaging and inspiring women through leadership development, learning opportunities, and community outreach.
EMPOWER West Volusia will be held this year on July 31, 2025, from 5:00-7:00 PM at Venue 142 in historic downtown DeLand. Join us for an evening of cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, story sharing, laughter, and empowerment. Everyone is welcome!
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS - click on their logo for more information:
DIAMOND
PLATINUM
SILVER
BRONZE
