The National Women's Hall of Fame will announce this year’s inductees Friday night in New York City to coincide with International Women's Day.
Hall officials will present two women with the "Keeper of the Flame" award, which recognizes women who inspire present and future generations.
Rochester-based designer and philanthropist Gail Riggs is one of the recipients.
Riggs has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities including the Women's Hall of Fame and the Susan B. Anthony House and Museum through sales of handbags and scarves she designed.
Riggs said women throughout history have inspired her.
"Knowing how hard it was to be a woman in the early 1800s all the way to when I was born in 1968,” she said, “I have a lot of gratitude for them and I want to honor them through my accessories and teach this generation that we weren't as lucky as we are now."
The other recipient of this year's "Keeper of the Flame" award is Dorothy Wickenden, executive editor of The New Yorker magazine.
The Hall of Fame’s formal induction ceremony for the class of 2019 takes place in September at del Lago Resort & Casino in Waterloo. To date, 276 women have been inducted into the hall, including suffragists, sports and political figures, authors and entertainers.
