San Diego Padres chairman Peter Seidler was posthumously honored for being named the 69th Mr. San Diego by the San Diego Rotary. The ceremony was held at the Liberty Station Conference Center main hall on April 19, 2024.
“When we set out to select the recipient of the 2023 Mr. San Diego award, Peter’s name was one of the first to come up, and every single person we talked to about giving him the award showered him with praise and adoration,” San Diego Rotary president Michael Brunker said in a statement. “Though it breaks my heart that Peter isn’t here to experience this celebration in his name, it brings me great joy that he was able to accept the award before he passed last year and that his wife and brother are here today to see just how much we all loved him.”
The annual Mr./Mrs./Ms. San Diego Award was first awarded in 1952, and since has been given on a nearly annual basis to a person deemed to have contributed outstanding community betterment to San Diego over an extended period.
The committee selected Seidler for his work building the Padres into a powerhouse franchise and an unwavering commitment to making San Diego a better place.
As an outspoken activist for people experiencing homelessness, Seidler founded the Tuesday Group to focus on rendering aid to the most vulnerable segments of the unhoused community. For his work with the Tuesday Group, Seidler was awarded the 2018 National Conflict Resolution Center Annual Peacemaker Award.
Remarked Sheel Seidler of her late husband: “I talk to Peter all the time. I don’t know what everyone thinks about that but it really works for me. And I asked him, you know, what should I tell everyone? I think one observation I have about this business is that you can always afford to be kind, no matter what conversation you’re having.” SDSun
