On Monday, April 4, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., Stetson University in DeLand will celebrate the “topping out” of the new Marshall & Vera Lea Rinker Welcome Center. Topping out is when the highest beam is placed atop a structure during the construction phase, and it is traditional to celebrate at that time.

“A ‘Topping Out’ celebration signifies that the building has reached the top,” said Bob Lipscomb, CEO of Williams Company Building Division, Inc., the builder working on the Welcome Center. “The tradition started in Europe and has continued for centuries.”

Typically the team of ironworkers building the structure and will sign the final beam before it’s put into place, literally leaving their mark on the structure. This time, Williams Company set the final beam just outside the construction zone and invited the Stetson University community to sign it.

The concrete and block stairwells and elevator shaft of the Welcome Center were completed Feb. 26, and the structural steel columns and beam frame are scheduled for completion on Mar. 28 with the ‘Topping Out” scheduled for 1:30 p.m., on Monday, April 4, with a few short comments and refreshments.