2025 Keeper of the Flame Award
Saturday, September 27th
The National Women’s Hall of Fame
Honoring Jeanne Giovannini
Preserving a place. Honoring a champion.
Celebrate a Historic Renovation, from Mill to Movement!
This year, we are thrilled to recognize Jeanne Giovannini, not only for her devotion to the Hall’s mission but also for her central role in the long‑term restoration of the historic Seneca Knitting Mill, now home to the Hall.
Jeanne has served as chair and champion of the Mill Renovation Project since 2012, after joining the board in 2007 and serving as its president.
Under her leadership, the once‑dilapidated 1844 Seneca Knitting Mill—located directly across the canal from the Wesleyan Chapel, site of the 1848 Women’s Rights Convention—was carefully and collaboratively rehabilitated into an accessible, vibrant museum and community space.
The project was honored with the Joan K. Davidson Award, the highest honor in New York State’s Historic Preservation Awards. The award recognized nearly a decade of shared vision, adaptive design, and community engagement—transforming the mill into a 16,000 sq ft landmark featuring exhibit space, meeting rooms, event facilities, and accessibility improvements.
This celebration commemorates the community that came together under Jeanne’s leadership to breathe life into this building—the permanent home of the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
About the Keeper of the Flame Award
Honoring the Past. Illuminating the Future.
In 1977, a torch with a symbolic flame was relayed from Seneca Falls to Houston for the National Women’s Conference, a distance of 2600 miles, by over 1000 runners.
We will display the torch used for this historic run live at the event! Come grab a selfie with a piece of history.
Millicent Brady Moore, a descendent of Susan Quinn Brown, the youngest attendee at the 1848 Women’s Rights Convention, started the relay race, handing the torch to Kathrine Switzer, the first official female competitor in the Boston Marathon.
Ms. Switzer raced a distance, then passed the torch to two-time Olympic Gold Medalist in swimming, Donna De Varona. (Both women are Hall Inductees!)
Presented by the National Women’s Hall of Fame, The Keeper of the Flame Award has honored extraordinary women since 2005 who embody courage, leadership, and a steadfast commitment to the mission of elevating women’s stories and keeping the spirit of the women’s rights movement alive.
Save the date!
Saturday, September 27th, 2025
5:30pm – 8:30pm
at the National Women’s Hall of Fame
1 Canal Street, Seneca Falls, New York
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Keepers of the Flame
A legacy of powerful women!
Since 2005, the Keeper of the Flame Award has recognized inspiring women whose dedication carries forward the spirit of the women’s rights movement. Past honorees include:
- Dorothy Wickenden, Executive Editor of The New Yorker
- Alexis Vogt, optics educator and innovator
- Ginny Ryan, award‑winning journalist and Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductee
- Veteran Feminists of America, second‑wave pioneers
- Dr. Susan Houde‑Walter, optics and national security leader
- Karen Jacobs, occupational health expert and academic
- Dawn Seymour, WWII Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP)
These women form a powerful legacy of leadership that we honor with each additional torchbearer!
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