"Nat the Brat" finally got the chance to speak at Rhododendron Girls State on Wednesday - and it only took her 23 years to get there.
West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant revealed to the gathering of the state's top high school girls at Wheeling Jesuit University that she always regretted not being selected for Girls State - despite being student body president at North Marion High School in 1986.
She also told them the neighborhood children called her "Nat the Brat" when she was a youth, and that her five older brothers called her "Egor."
Article Photos
Photo by Joselyn King
From left, West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant is interviewed by reporters for “The Rhododendron” newspaper at Rhododendron Girls State, Bethany Dzielski of Clarksburg, Kelly Lyons of Morgantown and Meghen Carney of Moundsville.
They gave her the moniker because of her middle initial "E," which stands for "Ethel." Tennant recalled the many names she has been called over the years, and recounted the times she has failed while trying to accomplish goals. And that's OK, she told the girls. She encouraged them to learn from their mistakes and build on their losses.
Girls State governor Lindsay Holmes of Sissonville, W.Va., introduced Tennant as being "a successful wife and mother," a point Tennant felt she had to clarify.
"The truth is, I'm not a very good wife," said Tennant, who is married to state Sen. Erik Wells, D-Kanawha. "I'm a good partner to my husband ... but I don't clean house very well."
Tennant was elected secretary of state in November 2008, and has been in office since January. She told the girls of her previous run for secretary of state in 2004, and how she lost to former Secretary of State Ken Hechler by "just 1,108 votes - to be exact."
"I could have called for a recount," Tennant said. "But I didn't want to be a sore loser. I thought I could run again"
She noted the move probably helped her to get elected in 2008.
"You know what didn't happen when I lost the election?" Tennant asked the girls. "I didn't die. It's the approach I take now in everything I do. I have the confidence to know I can do the right thing. And if I lose the next election, I won't die. How you handle losses makes you a good leader."
Tennant had the name "Superdog" at North Marion, where she served as the first female mascot for the Huskies.
At West Virginia University, she is renowned for having been the first female Mountaineer mascot - a role that got her called many names in 1990.
"I had no beard," Tennant said. "I was not tall. And, of course, a woman couldn't shoot a gun. She couldn't wear buckskin."
WVU fans often would tell her, "Go back to the kitchen and make babies," she recounted.
Tennant said at least one fan tried to spit on her, prompting one of the females present to comment that she should have "shot him with her gun." Another Girls State citizen asked her what she thought her biggest weakness is.
"Not to sound shallow ... but I'm not good with clothes," Tennant admitted. "But you want your secretary of state to represent the state well, don't you?"