THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 8, 1994 TAG: 9412060191
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
An early morning phone call jarred Jodi Rell awake the morning after Election Day.
A Connecticut radio station had tracked her down, and they wanted to interview the state's newly elected lieutenant governor.
She told the station she would call them back and then turned to her husband, Lou. He looked at her and said: ``Good morning, lieutenant governor.''
``I went, `Oh, my goodness!' '' Jodi Rell, a Norfolk native, recalled. ``Who is this person they want to speak to?''
The combination of the phone call and her husband's words helped Rell realize that she had indeed won the election the night before. But she said it was a slow process.
``It's funny,'' she said. ``You sort of (campaign) by habit, and it doesn't really sink in all of a sudden.''
Rell, 48, was born Mary Carolyn Reavis in Norfolk. Her husband nicknamed her Jodi more than 20 years ago, and she has used that name professionally ever since. She added that many people from her past might not realize she's the Mary Carolyn who grew up in Norfolk.
A graduate of Norview High School, Rell later studied at Old Dominion University, then at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Conn. She and her husband now live in Brookfield, Conn.
Her political career kicked into high gear after she was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1984. Rell has been re-elected every two years since then and is currently House Republican deputy leader.
She ran on this year's ticket with governor-elect John Rowland, who also became a U.S. Congressman when Rell first ran for the state house.
Besides the radio station phone call, Rell said, she knew her time had come when she stood in front of her supporters with Rowland on the victory platform on Election Day.
``There was just this deafening applause, and it felt really good,'' Rell said. ``It's been 24 years since a Republican won the governor's seat.''
After a long and difficult race, Rell said she is now busily preparing for next month's inauguration. She said she is gradually getting used to seeing her name followed by ``Lt. Governor.''
``(The Inauguration Day program) was the first time I saw it without the `elect' after it,'' Rell said. ``Little things like that strike a chord, and you're like, `Wow, that's me.' ''
When she was growing up in Norfolk, Rell said, politics was the farthest thing from her mind. Her goal was once to become a high school English teacher.
``It's funny. I remember taking a speech class and vowing that I would never give a speech in public again,'' Rell said.
At Norview, Rell said, she learned about everything from football to dealing with a bad grade, and she has carried those life lessons with her to Connecticut.
``We had the best high school teachers,'' she said. ``When I look back and think how they taught and what they made us do, we were lucky. They made us think and made us take responsibility.''
Rell says she travels to Hampton Roads about once every three months to visit her mother, Dorothy Reavis, who now lives in Virginia Beach. Her father died in 1992, and the rest of her family - two older brothers and an older sister - are scattered throughout the country.
Understandably, the area has changed a lot since her childhood days.
``Downtown Norfolk is a whole new place. It's like a nice city, and it always was,'' she said.
However, because of this year's campaign she was unable to attend her high school reunion. Rell said it would be fun to see her high school directory and read what it lists for her occupation.
``I haven't received the booklet yet,'' she said. ``I told them I'd know my occupation on Nov. 8.''
June Burnside, who has known Rell since they were teens, said Rell has been stirring up excitement in her old community since she was first elected to the House of Representatives.
``She has made everybody really proud,'' said Burnside, of Norfolk. ``She's a talented young lady with a lot of common sense. She's unpretentious and just level-headed.''
Rell, who said she reads a lot in her spare time, said she is content with the direction her life is taking. Her husband recently retired as a pilot for Trans World Airlines, her daughter, Meredith, is a kitchen designer, and her son, Michael, is a junior at the University of Delaware.
Although she said she has lost contact with some of her high school chums, she said she has a message for them:
``Thank you for the memories. Thank you for providing a good public education. I will do my best to do you proud.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Norfolk native Jodi Rell
She's Connecticut's new lieutenant governor
by CNB