Ted Martinez Jr., Ph.D., and Lidia S. Martinez, an amiable pair, spent time on Zoom recently talking about being named Mr. & Mrs. San Diego 2026 by the San Diego Rotary Club.
They’re the first Latino couple chosen in the 72-year history of this award, given to locals who personify the organization’s Service Above Self motto.
They laugh at the same jokes and sometimes finish each others’ sentences and thoughts. Together for 44 years, including 27 years in San Diego and 15 in downtown’s Marina District, Ted and Lydia both smile modestly when asked what it feels like to be Mr. and Mrs. San Diego.
They each have different service paths. But Lidia said they have an agreement.
“Between the two of us, if one of us says yes to something the other supports it 100 percent,” she said. “It works for us. It helps that we really like each other. And organizations we support get double the pleasure.”
They both volunteer for the USS Midway Museum. Sometimes when they attend Midway events, Ted goes as a board member and Lydia is his plus-one. Other times, Lydia is a corporate sponsor and Ted is her guest.
They both came from humble beginnings before gaining workplace success that led into volunteer and community work.
One of seven children, Ted grew up in a migrant farmworking family. As a youngster, a teacher helped him get into a college track. Ted went on to become a community college president and chancellor, and served at Grossmont College from 1997 to 2007.
In 2003, he founded the National Community College Hispanic Council Leadership Fellows Program. The organization helps emerging leaders gain access to mentorship and professional networking.
Ted said the program currently has 400 fellows in 28 states. And has helped launch the careers of 50 community college presidents and 70 vice presidents.
Lydia interjected: “There was the announcement of Dr. Star Rivera-Lacey. The former president of Palomar College, she became the deputy chancellor/provost for the Riverside Community College District. She was one of Ted’s mentees.”
Ted nods. I ask how that made him feel. “Well, sentimental,” he said.
“He cried,” Lydia noted. “Ted’s a crier.”
Ted nodded, again. “Well, this was the intent of the program, and it is working.”
During Lidia’s 30 years with Southwest Airlines, she helped establish the company’s multicultural affairs department. She’s a first-generation college graduate, coming from a family of 11 siblings who received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from San Diego State University in 2022.
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 also keeps busy working with organizations that support foster kids, address anti-poverty issues and run recovery homes for men and women.
“Lidia and Ted Martinez so wonderfully deserve this honor of being this year’s Mr. & Mrs. San Diego,” Rotary Foundation President (San Diego Rotary Club 33) Wendy Urushima-Conn said. “For decades, they have supported community members and organizations that uplift those [who] have been underserved and overlooked. And have lifted up new generations of leaders in our midst along the way.”
The Rotary’s Mr./Mrs./Ms. San Diego award dates back to 1952 when it was established by the Grant Club. Rotary took over the awards in 1976.
There are three basic criteria: 1. Nominees must be alive. 2. They cannot currently hold governmental elected office. 3. They have contributed outstanding community service to the San Diego region over a long period of time.
Previous recipients include Father Joe Carroll (Father Joe’s Villages), businessman Malin Burnham, and the late Padres owner Peter Seidler. The award was known only as Mr. San Diego from 1952 to 1991. Since then it’s been given to noteworthy women, including Balboa Park advocate Betty Peabody, entrepreneur Patti Roscoe and Rancho La Puerto founder Deborah Szekely.
This is the fifth time in the program’s history that a married couple has been honored. Ted and Lidia respect their place among all the award nominees over the years.
“We’re following some very special people who we respect and love,” Lidia said. “Like Patti Roscoe and like so many people we look up to. Joining that group of honorees is humbling. Ted and I both hugged and cried because we know we’re the first Latino couple.”
Lidia noted that she and Ted have been recognized separately over the years by different organizations, but this is the first time they’re sharing the spotlight.
“We’ve never been honored together,” Lidia said. “Just the fact that we work together so much, and we respect each other’s expertise and passion for what we each want to do. The fact that we’re being honored together is unreal.”
Rotary will recognize Ted and Lidia during a Club 33 luncheon on Nov. 12 at the Liberty Station Conference Center.
