The FreeDOS Beta 1 "Orlando" distribution was released 24 April 1998. This was the first distribution to actually have an install program, rather than being just a huge zip file.
Codename
At the time that Jim created the first Beta distribution for FreeDOS, he was about to take a vacation to see his brother. Since the brother lived in Orlando, FL, Jim thought it would be cool to name the distribution based on that trip. Jim literally uploaded the new release then finished packing to fly down the next morning.
History
See the 2000 Slashdot interview where Jim talked about the Beta 1-4 names
This Wayback snapshot says the Beta1 was released 24 Apr 1998.
Announcement
We don't have an archive of the FreeDOS Beta 1 announcement.