Dr Francisco Soler Valero receives the Rotary Excellence Award

Rotary Club Alicante Lucentum Puerto devoted its meeting of Tuesday 22 September to one of its own: Dr Francisco Soler Valero, orthopaedic surgeon and fellow Rotarian, who received the club's Rotary Excellence Award before a packed room of members, family and guests.

The award, over dessert

Over dessert, the award was presented jointly by Andrea Corbalán, president of the club, and Pablo Rico, president in the 2025-26 term, who spoke about the recipient's career before the presentation. His parents and the rest of his family were there to share a day that clearly mattered to him.

Head of the lower limb unit at Hospital Universitario del Vinalopó and director of the Traumatología Soler clinic in Elche, Dr Soler graduated from the San Juan Faculty of Medicine and trained at Hospital General Universitario de Elche. He is a member of the Spanish Hip Society and the European Hip Society, and an associate professor for Stryker Europe. In 2022 he received Spain's National Medicine Award in Traumatology and in 2023 the European Medicine Award in Traumatology.

The talk that closed the meeting

The meeting closed with his talk on minimally invasive hip surgery, the field that has made him a reference both in Spain and abroad. He explained what the technique involves, what it means for patients in terms of recovery time, and where traumatology is heading in the coming years.

But the talk went well beyond medicine. Soler devoted much of it to what holds a career together when you look back: family, respect, education and the value of hard work. He spoke about his wife and their two children, and thanked his parents, placing them at the centre of everything he has achieved. He also recalled Santa Pola, his home town, as the place where he learned what would later serve him in an operating theatre. It was the most moving moment of the day.

Who was there

Among those attending were Lidia López, councillor of Alicante City Council, and Loreto Brotons, president of APAMM, the Alicante provincial breast cancer association, along with many members and friends of the club.

The Rotary Excellence Award recognises those who, through their profession, raise the bar and give back to society part of what they have received. There are few things more Rotarian than that.