Rutherford County Assessor of Property, Rob Mitchell, was awarded the 2017 John C. Donehoo Essay Award by the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO). Named after John C. Donehoo, IAAO's first president, this award is presented to the author of an outstanding non-technical essay on assessment, property tax administration or tax policy. The award was presented on behalf of the International Association of Assessing Officers by former IAAO Executive Board Member, John Isbell.

"The International Association of Assessing Officers proudly recognizes Rob Mitchell for his highly-regarded article on adequate funding in the August 2016 edition of Fair & Equitable. Rob has done an excellent job researching and addressing the need for adequate funding," said John Isbell.

Also on hand for the award ceremony was Will Denami, Executive Director of the Tennessee Association of Assessing Officers, who said "Rob Mitchell has once again demonstrated his ability to understand complicated problems and use innovation and determination to come up with a solution. Rob has a tremendous amount of energy and tenacity and the citizens of Rutherford County are fortunate to have a public servant like Rob Mitchell working on their behalf."

"I am very humbled by this award and want to thank my team in the Rutherford County Assessor's Office for making this possible. I want to thank Will Denami and John Isbell for their encouragement and challenging me to innovate. I want to thank my friend Senator Bill Ketron for his inspiration to serve. I want to thank all my colleagues who represent Rutherford County citizens on the state and local level. Mostly, I want to thank my family for their love and support and the citizens of Rutherford County for allowing me to serve," said Rob Mitchell.

The Tennessee Association of Assessing Officers (TNAAO) is an affiliate of the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO). The TNAAO is composed of the elected officials serving as Assessors of Property in Tennessee. The TNAAO's purpose is to work on behalf of the people of our great state to ensure fairness and uniformity in statutes regarding the assessment of property, as well as, to promote excellence through best practices and professionalism amongst those charged with this vital task.