ABOUT THE TNAAO: OUR HISTORY

The Tennessee Association of Assessing Officers is the umbrella organization to three separate organizations that serve the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee: East, Middle and West.   The three regional organizations joined together in the mid-1960s with the purpose of fostering dialogue between the Assessors of Property elected in the various counties of Tennessee.   All county Assessors of Property were invited to join, and dues-paying members were granted voting rights in the organization.

In 1968, the TNAAO joined with Clerks Association, the Registers Association, and the Trustees Association of the state to form the County Officials Association of Tennessee (COAT).   The TNAAO became independent from that umbrella organization in 1994, but continues to work closely with all county officials, the General Assembly, and the State Division of Property Assessments to further fairness and bolster cooperation between those charged with serving the citizens of Tennessee regarding matters of property valuation and its effects on taxation.

The newly independent TNAAO hired its first full-time Executive Director, Ralph Cooper, in 1996. A former TNAAO President from Weakley County, Cooper served at the helm of the organization for ten years, and was succeeded in 2007 by Will Denami.

The job of Assessor of Property has changed significantly since the founding of the TNAAO. Today, many Assessors of Property do their own mapping, reviewing their own parcels, visit new construction, qualify deeds to be used in ratio studies, talk to local civic organizations, educate the public on mass appraisals, and many are even reappraising their own counties on four- to six-year cycles.

In short, the TNAAO has a history to be proud of, and a future to be excited about, as new technologies, regulations and laws change our profession.

	The organization's governing board
	Our executive director, Will Denami
	A directory of all Tennessee's Assessors of Property