Kay and Bob Dillinger
photography by win wolloff
Why do you do what you do?
Kay: Because I have to think our daughter
Beth would be honored at what the Beth Dillinger
Foundation accomplishes.
Bob: Poverty is the greatest ill that impacts
our country, and I am able to lobby to help
people escape the poverty cycle by giving them an
opportunity and not a hand out.
What don’t people know about you?
Kay: I am really shy.
Bob: I dreamed of being a rock star!
What are your favorite words of wisdom?
Kay: True friends are priceless.
Bob: You are either part of the problem or part of
the solution.
What do you consider to be your greatest
achievement?
Kay: Creating the Beth Dillinger Foundation.
Bob: Making a difference in the lives of those
less fortunate in our society.
What is your motto?
Kay: You never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. Live
life to its fullest.
Bob: My motto is the same as our office motto:
We are the Hope.
How do you think other people would describe you?
Kay: Never at a loss for words!
Bob: Dedicated and unafraid of ruffling feathers.
What would you like to do that you have
never done?
Kay: I would like to meet the current Pope.
Bob: I would like to travel more than I have been
able to get away.
How would you describe yourself?
Kay: A true friend.
Bob: Someone who fights for the underdog and
despises bullies.
What would you like to be able to do that you
can’t do?
Kay: I would love to be a public speaker without my
palms sweating profusely and my heart pounding!
Bob: I see the impact of poverty on the children in our
community and it frustrates me that I cannot fix it
for all those children.
9
Bob Dillinger graduated from Columbia University
and then received his Juris Doctor degree from Stetson
College of Law. He began his career as an Assistant
Public Defender; and then in 1997, after 15 years in
private practice, he became the Public Defender for
the 6th Judicial Circuit of Florida. He is also an adjunct
professor at Stetson College of Law. Over the years,
he has received many awards for his service to the
community. He met Kay while she was working as a
court reporter. She is now president and co-founder of
the Beth Dillinger Foundation that feeds, clothes and
educates children in need. Kay is also vice president of
the board of Pinellas PACE Center for Girls, a statewide
program that helps girls at risk of dropping out of
school, as well as a board member of Ready for Life that
helps those who are aging out of foster care. She was
named a Community Hero by the Tampa Bay Lightning
Foundation.
Why do you live here?
Kay: I was born and raised in St. Petersburg. There is
no place like home.
Bob: I am a native Floridian; and after law school,
I met Kay. She calmed down my wild side, and
this became our home.
At what do you excel?
Kay: Worrying about everything.
Bob: I am able to surround myself with smart capable
people who share my vision for helping those
in need.
What is your favorite word?
Kay: Humble.
Bob: Hope.
How do you relax?
Kay: Going to our weekend river house in bustling
Istachatta, Florida, and eating a gourmet meal at
Mary and Bill Repper’s home.
Bob: Bass fishing on the Withlacoochee River.
Who is your role model?
Kay: My husband, who is the voice for those less
fortunate in our society.
Bob: My mother had a heart as big as all of the
outdoors, and she was always trying to help
those in need.
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
Kay: You need to marry Bob Dillinger!
Bob: Do what you think is the right thing to do, and
don’t worry what others may think.
158 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015