San Diego Rotary Names Drs. Ted and Lidia S Martinez Mr. and Mrs. San Diego 2026

Today, San Diego Rotary Club announced the honorees of the 72nd annual Mr./Mrs./Ms. San Diego awards program. Ted Martinez Jr., Ph.D. and Lidia S Martinez will receive the honors from Club 33 at a luncheon held in their honor on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026.

For decades, the Downtown San Diego residents have opened doors for others, cultivated future leaders, and brought people and organizations together to create lasting community impact. Their work reflects a shared belief that the greatest measure of success is not individual achievement, but helping others succeed.

“Lidia and Ted truly exemplify Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self. Their volunteer and community work, leadership through action, and wonderful sense of humor make them the perfect couple for this Life Achievement Award,” said Patti Roscoe, an accomplished entrepreneur, a past president of San Diego Rotary Club (2003-2004), and recipient of the Mr./Mrs./Ms. San Diego Award.

Leadership through opportunity
For more than five decades, Ted Martinez, Jr., Ph.D., has dedicated his career to education, leadership development, and community service. Raised in a migrant farmworker family, Martinez learned early that education could create opportunities and change lives. A nationally respected educator and former community college president and chancellor, he has spent his career championing student success, workforce development, and the advancement of future leaders.

In 2003, Martinez founded the National Community College Hispanic Council Leadership Fellows Program, which now bears his name, to help emerging leaders access the mentorship, preparation, and professional networking opportunities he wished he had at the beginning of his career. The program has since prepared hundreds of leaders who now serve in executive roles at colleges and universities across the country. His commitment to creating opportunity extends beyond education, including his service on the USS Midway Museum Board of Directors, where he helped establish internships connecting community college students with career opportunities. This dedication to paving the way for the next generation mirrors Lidia's lifelong mission of building connections and bringing people together around shared goals.

Lidia S Martinez has built her career around creating connections and bringing people together around shared goals. During her more than 30 years with Southwest Airlines, she helped establish the company’s national multicultural community affairs department and developed partnerships connecting business success with community impact. A first-generation college graduate and one of 11 children, Lidia credits her family, mentors, and teachers for instilling the values of hard work, service, humility, and gratitude that continue to guide her work. In 2022, she received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from San Diego State University.

Today, through ¡Adelante! Strategies and her service on multiple nonprofit and civic boards, Lidia advises organizations on strategic partnerships, community engagement, leadership, and philanthropy. She is known for connecting leaders across business, government, education, and the nonprofit sector to create opportunities and strengthen communities.

A life of opening doors
The dynamic duo has called America’s Finest City their home for over 25 years. The couple have been married for more than 44 years and are the proud parents of two accomplished adult children who continue the family's commitment to leadership and community service. “Everything we have built in San Diego including our marriage, our family and our work, has grown out of the belief that a community is only as strong as the people willing to open doors for one another,” said Lidia. Together, they have spent more than four decades building a life rooted in service, education, mentorship and leadership, often saying that when one of them says "yes" to serving, the other one does too. Whether mentoring an emerging professional, advising a nonprofit leader, or bringing organizations together to address community challenges, they share a simple belief: the greatest measure of success is helping others succeed.

Mr./Mrs./Ms. San Diego Awards program celebrates notable San Diegans
The Mr./Ms./Mrs. San Diego Award is the most prestigious award granted to a San Diegan. This longstanding San Diego tradition dates back to 1952, when it was established by the Grant Club, and has been with the San Diego Rotary Club since 1976. To be nominated and qualify as a recipient, you should be a living person, not currently in government elective office, who has contributed outstanding community betterment to the San Diego region in a variety of ways, through his/her efforts over a long period of time. The Mr./Ms./Mrs. San Diego Award is not a fundraising tool or sponsorship; it solely exists to recognize a worthy recipient who has made a significant improvement to San Diego.

Award recipients are now chosen by the San Diego Rotary Club’s past presidents, who are more closely involved in the community and those making the largest impact, through a voting process after reviewing all qualified nominations.

Previous recipients include Father Joe Carroll, Cecil Steppe, Leon Williams, Jerry Coleman, Malin Burnham, Linda and Mel Katz, Jerry Sanders, Ben and Nikki Clay, Tom Fetter, and the late Peter Seidler. Though it was initially given only to men from 1952 to 1991, the award has also been given to multiple women, including Betty Peabody, Patti Roscoe, Yvonne Larsen, and Deborah Szekely. This is the fifth time in the program's history that a married couple has been honored.

For a full list of recipients, visit the San Diego Rotary Club website.

About San Diego Rotary
Established in 1911, San Diego Rotary provides its members unmatched opportunities to drive meaningful change at home and around the world. Boasting more than 400 local members of all ages, backgrounds, and business sectors, the organization creates a rich network of passionate individuals who fuel weekly programs and drive impactful community projects through its 40+ committees. San Diego Rotary, affectionately known as Club 33, is in its 116th year, and is the 33rd oldest and tenth largest Rotary Club in the world out of more than 46,000 Rotary Clubs and 1.4 million members. More information is available at sandiegorotary.club.