Dellich honored by PBI
NAPA, Calif. — As successful as she's been as the Director of Tennis at Silverado Resort & Spa in Napa, Calif., Katie Dellich does much more than work.
She gives.
The 2000 Butler graduate and former Golden Tornado No. 1 singles player received the Larry Huebner Humanitarian Award for 2019-20. The award is an international honor presented by Peter Burwash International, which has tennis resorts throughout the world.
Employed by PBI since 2006, Dellich is a PBI regional manager and the PBI World Tennis Camp Global Director.
The Larry Huebner Humanitarian Award was introduced in 2011 by Burwash to honor his former tennis coach.
Dellich is the award's fifth recipient.
“Larry was one of the guys who influenced Mr. Burwash to focus on charity work,” Dellich said. “PBI is definitely a company known for giving back.”And Dellich has done more than her share in that regard.She has engineered fund-raising initiatives, mentors children in the Napa area along with other tennis professionals and helps initiate the growth of the sport.Dellich also serves on the board for Food For Life, Vrindavan, an organization that promotes education for girls in India and helps provide medical assistance, food distribution, clothing and clean water programs there.Vrindavan is a poverty-stricken village in northern India.“I began going over there in 2016,” Dellich said. “A couple of fellow tennis pros were involved in the Food For Life program and I wanted to join them, see what it was all about.“When I first went ... my heart exploded for those girls.”Dellich joined the Food For Life board in 2018.She's been taking two-week trips to Vrindavan every year since 2016. She did not go this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.“It was strange. We just got back from India around this time last year and the world changed days later,” Dellich said.“Vrindavan is an old, traditional Indian village. Food For Life has a school that educates the girls. Otherwise, they would not receive much education at all.”Dellich added that girls are often “considered liabilities to their families” there and can be sold off to be married.“We established a dowry fund for these girls,” she said. “But they have to finish their education at the school before they can receive it.”Ground has been broken on tennis courts that can introduce the girls to the sport.Before, tennis lines were drawn on the ground and a rope was strung across the makeshift court to serve as the net.“We have 1,000 kids in the school and we had three tennis balls,” Dellich said. “We're trying to get them physical exercise, but the pressing thing for those kids is survival.“We not only feed them at the school, we package some food for them to take home. Otherwise, they may not eat again until they return to school the next day.“It's heartbreaking, what they're going through.”While the COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult for everyone, Dellich admitted that the game of tennis has become more popular as a result of it.“I guess it's the perfect social-distancing sport,” she said. “More people are playing the sport and enjoying it.“John Huebner (fellow PBI tennis pro) is Larry's son and a friend of mine, so getting an award with his family's name attached to it means a lot to me.“I'm happy to give back. I'm happy to work for a company that is so positive in that regard,” Dellich added.
