{"id":4662,"date":"2026-06-19T10:04:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T10:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662"},"modified":"2026-06-19T10:04:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T10:04:06","slug":"orlando-exhibit-spotlights-women-veterans-as-nations-250th-approaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662","title":{"rendered":"Orlando exhibit spotlights women veterans as nation\u2019s 250th approaches"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

An Orlando exhibit honoring women veterans opened this week, showcasing contributions that are a sometimes overlooked part of military history.<\/p>\n

Read more Letters: We can\u2019t depend on Tallahassee | \u2018In God We Trust\u2019 represents America<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI witnessed firsthand how women transformed the military, even when our skills were not fully recognized,\u201d said Daila Espeut-Jones, who retired from the U.S. Army in 2004 as a first sergeant. She was inducted into the Florida Veterans\u2019 Hall of Fame in 2020, recognized for her advocacy on behalf of active duty members, veterans and their families.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stepped into roles once considered off limits,\u201d Espeut-Jones said.<\/p>\n

She was among about 40 visitors, many wearing white polo shirts studded with pins and patches from their military service, crowded into the Women\u2019s History and Cultural Center on Wednesday for the exhibit\u2019s opening ceremony.<\/p>\n

The \u201cShe Proudly Served: Women in the Military\u201d exhibit, hosted by the Girl Scouts of Citrus Council, will run through September. It was timed to coincide with the nation\u2019s 250th founding anniversary next month.<\/p>\n

The exhibit holds glass cases full of folded flags and military pins, and the walls are decorated with mounted notebooks, packaged rations and goggles. A row of mannequins display combat camouflage and military formalwear, which faces a separate historical timeline of women in service from the Revolutionary War in the late 1700s through the Iraq War that ended in 2011.<\/p>\n

Susan Aungst, a regional advisor at the Florida Women Veterans Advisory Council, donated her kevlar helmets for visitors to try on, and a mannequin sports one of her uniforms, a dress resembling a tuxedo.<\/p>\n

The Sumter County resident served two decades as a U.S. Air Force communications electronics officer and is now part of the Tri-County Women Veterans, a nonprofit with members from Marion, Lake and Sumter Counties. Other members also offered memorabilia for display.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Florida houses the second-largest population of women veterans in the nation, which totaled to over 170,000 as of 2023 \u2014 and the group is rapidly growing, according to the Florida Department of Veterans\u2019 Affairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think a lot of people know that,\u201d Aungst said. \u201cWhen you say numbers like that, it\u2019s like people go, \u2018What?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Hair, survival, motherhood: Female artists show their strength<\/a><\/p>\n

Almost 100 portraits line the building\u2019s staircase, and she anticipates more will be added, recognizing the achievements of other women who served.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a woman veteran sees her name on a\u2026 placard on the wall and her picture, it gives her a whole new feeling of, you know, I made a difference,\u201d she said. \u201cMy story matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The four-month long showing highlights \u201cjust how significant an impact our women veterans have on the sanctity, the security and the freedom that we celebrate in this country,\u201d especially ahead of the upcoming 250th celebration, said Jennifer Wilcox, CEO of the Girl Scouts council,\u00a0 which spans six central Florida counties.<\/p>\n

Women veterans, from left: Deloris \u201cDee\u201d Quaranta, Daila \u201cDee\u201d Espeut-Jones, Susan Aungst, Sue Roper, and Lorraine Holland are pictured during an opening ceremony at the Women\u2019s History &amp; Cultural Center in Orlando on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (Stephen M. Dowell\/Orlando Sentinel)Raising awareness of women veterans\u2019 accomplishments also underscores the need for social services tailored to their challenges, said Deloris Quaranta, another 2020 Florida Veterans\u2019 Hall of Fame inductee. Women face the same roadblocks as men and often more, she added, including domestic violence and discrimination.<\/p>\n

Quaranta is a retired U.S. Air Force technical sergeant, who served for two decades. After retiring in 1998, She later founded Women Veterans Ignited, a nonprofit that provides women-centered support programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever you\u2019re doing for the men, you need to be doing for the women,\u201d she told the crowd.<\/p>\n

The exhibit is located at 341 N Mills Ave., Orlando FL 32803 and will be open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday.<\/p>\n

Read more Editorial: Florida mourns the loss of two champions of justice<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Orlando exhibit spotlights women veterans, with the “She Proudly Served: Women in the Military\u201d showcasing uniforms, awards and information about women in the armed services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nOrlando exhibit spotlights women veterans as nation\u2019s 250th approaches - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Orlando exhibit spotlights women veterans as nation\u2019s 250th approaches - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Orlando exhibit spotlights women veterans, with the "She Proudly Served: Women in the Military\u201d showcasing uniforms, awards and information about women in the armed services.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-19T10:04:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4662#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4662\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"headline\":\"Orlando exhibit spotlights women veterans as nation\u2019s 250th approaches\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-19T10:04:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4662\"},\"wordCount\":659,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4662#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d76f33c7c5b027b5521f50912f2f87bd.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Education\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4662#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4662\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4662\",\"name\":\"Orlando exhibit spotlights women veterans as nation\u2019s 250th approaches - Orlando Relocation Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4662#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4662#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d76f33c7c5b027b5521f50912f2f87bd.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-19T10:04:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4662#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4662\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4662#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d76f33c7c5b027b5521f50912f2f87bd.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d76f33c7c5b027b5521f50912f2f87bd.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":628},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4662#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Orlando exhibit spotlights women veterans as nation\u2019s 250th approaches\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Orlando Relocation Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Orlando exhibit spotlights women veterans as nation\u2019s 250th approaches - Orlando Relocation Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Orlando exhibit spotlights women veterans as nation\u2019s 250th approaches - Orlando Relocation Report","og_description":"Orlando exhibit spotlights women veterans, with the \"She Proudly Served: Women in the Military\u201d showcasing uniforms, awards and information about women in the armed services.","og_url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662","og_site_name":"Orlando Relocation Report","article_published_time":"2026-06-19T10:04:06+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"headline":"Orlando exhibit spotlights women veterans as nation\u2019s 250th approaches","datePublished":"2026-06-19T10:04:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662"},"wordCount":659,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d76f33c7c5b027b5521f50912f2f87bd.webp","articleSection":["Education","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662","name":"Orlando exhibit spotlights women veterans as nation\u2019s 250th approaches - Orlando Relocation Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d76f33c7c5b027b5521f50912f2f87bd.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-19T10:04:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d76f33c7c5b027b5521f50912f2f87bd.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d76f33c7c5b027b5521f50912f2f87bd.webp","width":1024,"height":628},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Orlando exhibit spotlights women veterans as nation\u2019s 250th approaches"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/","name":"Orlando Relocation Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}