IAC Honors Award Recipients at 2023 Annual Conference

The Idaho Association of Counties (IAC) hosted its 2023 Annual Conference in Downtown Boise this September. One of the many highlights of the event was the awards presentation to honor distinguished county elected officials.

The Mills-Adler Award is given to officials from various affiliate associations for their dedication and significant contributions to their counties. The award is named in honor of two distinguished county elected officials: the late Darwin Mills, Lincoln County Sheriff, and the late Betty Adler, Payette County Treasurer. Both exemplified the qualities all county elected officials strive for.

Recipients of the Mills-Adler Award for 2023:

Jenny Rosin, Lemhi County Assessor

Jenny Rosin has dedicated over 30 years to local government since taking office as County Assessor in 2011. She served as the Idaho Association of County Assessors (IACA) President from 2019 to 2021 and has never missed an IACA or IAC meeting. As one of her county’s senior elected officials, she understands the importance of staying current on legislative updates and county procedures so that she can help educate her peers and newly elected assessors on the roles and responsibilities of the Assessor’s office.

Angela Barkell, Owyhee County Clerk

Angela Barkell was elected County Clerk in 2011 and hasn’t taken a beat since. She is chair of the Idaho Association of County Recorders and Clerks (IACRC) Ad Hoc Committee and serves on the IACRC Budget / Auditing and Judicial Committee. She’s participated on numerous IAC committees and has served as the IACRC President and the Idaho Association of Commissioners and Clerks (IACC) President. If she is a part of a committee or board, she will contribute fully and will be a trusted source of information. She is generous with her time and never hesitates to offer guidance or help troubleshoot an issue. Even during the extremely busy budget time, if a new clerk needs help with their budget, she will drop everything and walk them through it, including having them send her what they have so she can review it. 

Philip Lampert, Benewah County Commissioner  (not present)

Philip Lampert was elected County Commissioner in 2011, and since then he has strived to be a strong county leader and an engaged member of the Idaho Association of Counties. He makes a concerted effort to attend all IAC conferences, as he knows they are an invaluable opportunity to work with other commissioners on joint issues. His professional and pleasant demeanor elicits cooperation from his peers and results in greater productivity and better outcomes. He’s very active on numerous committees and boards. He is the current chairman of the Board of County Commissioners and serves on the Magistrate Commission, Basin Environmental Improvement Project, Local Highway Assistance Council, and the IAC Legislative Committee.

Craig Rinehart, Cassia County Coroner

Craig Rinehart was elected County Coroner in 2010 and has been on the Board of the Idaho State Association of County Coroners (ISACC) since 2017. He has also been serving as the ISACC President since 2022. This person been a committed leader and has attended every ISACC conference since being elected, which are held twice a year. He is a member of IACME, the International Association of Coroners & Medical Examiners, and attends their annual conference each year. Craig also holds the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI) certification, and he is working toward earning accreditation of the coroner’s office. He is also pioneering a way to get all coroners ABMDI certified. Since his election, Craig has completed 194 hours of Coroner Continuing Education. 

Bruce Withers, Lemhi County Prosecuting Attorney

Bruce Withers graduated from the University of Idaho Law School in 1997 and was admitted to the Idaho State Bar in 1998. He clerked for the Honorable Roger Burdick, District Judge, for 2 years. He practiced civil law for 24 years and has been the Lemhi County Prosecuting Attorney for over 23 years. He also served as the Salmon City Prosecutor for 15 years and has been a member of the Idaho Prosecuting Attorney’s Association (IPAA) for over 22 years. He also served as a member of the IPAA Board of Directors for 3 years. Supreme Court Judge Roger Burdick appointed this individual to the Criminal Rules Committee in 2005, 2008 and 2016. Bruce was instrumental in forming Lemhi County Felony Drug Court and has attended several national conferences and actively participates in national and local trainings pertaining to drug court.

Chris Goetz, Clearwater County Sheriff

Chris Goetz served in the US Army stationed in Germany from 1992-1995. After leaving the Army, he served with the Idaho National Guard from 1995-1998 while also working full-time for the Department of Defense. In the spring of 1998, he decided to attend the POST Academy as a self-sponsored student. Chris started with the County Sheriff’s Office as a Deputy in September of 1998 then moved to Patrol Deputy, was promoted to Patrol Corporal, and then transferred to Narcotics Detective. He was then promoted to Patrol Sergeant and then to Chief Deputy. In 2008, he was elected County Sheriff and is currently serving his fourth, four-year term.

Sabrina Young, Washington County Treasurer

Sabrina Young grew up between the island of O’ahu, Hawaii and beautiful Cambridge, Idaho. A graduate of Cambridge High School, this individual was active in student government, serving as an ASB Officer and delegate for Youth Legislature. Having a heart for service, she was also a member of the Natural Helpers, a peer-to-peer counseling organization focused on the student body electing representatives to provide support and resources to fellow students in need. Sabrina married her husband after high school, and together they have two children. Today, she and her husband are small business owners in their local community. At the age of nineteen, she went to work for Zions Bank and quickly moved through the ranks. In 2006, she was awarded Customer Service Manager of the Year and earned several top sales and service awards throughout her career. She was appointed to the Sales Implementation Team and to the New Retail Branch Roll Out Team and earned several superior compliance audits during her employment. 

The second distinction presented at the conference was the H. Sydney Duncombe Award, which is IAC’s highest honor given to individuals who have greatly contributed to furthering county government through development and education in Idaho. The award was created in 1988 in honor of the late Dr. H. Sydney Duncombe, who taught and trained numerous county officials in their roles and responsibilities. This year’s recipient was nominated to receive the award by two separate IAC districts.

The recipient of the H. Sydney Duncombe Award for Excellence in County Government is Seth Grigg, IAC Executive Director.

Born and raised in Idaho, Seth is the oldest of seven and comes from a family of Idaho dairy farmers, lawmen, an early childhood educator, and a small shoe shop owner. He earned a bachelor’s from Brigham Young University and got his master’s in public administration at Boise State University. His first job out of grad school was as a policy analyst for IAC. His first legislative assignment in that role was pushing a bill increasing recording fees through the legislature, and he was thrilled when he succeeded.

Seth has fourteen years of leadership experience specializing in local government advocacy and management. He is skilled in analyzing complex problems and developing highly technical legislation to address and resolve those policy issues. A collaborative leader, Seth works tirelessly developing grassroots advocacy campaigns and fostering partnerships between the executive branch, legislators, and local governments.

He has vast experience working in nonprofit state associations focused on local government advocacy, education, and technical assistance. He is known for being a policy expert in property tax administration, local government budgeting and finance, local governance, transportation funding, Idaho’s criminal justice system, and federal lands and natural resources. He has a deep understanding of Idaho’s legislative process and politics, as well as the challenges facing a geographically, culturally, and economically diverse state.

His advice is sought by other local government associations, elected officials in the capitol building, and the media. He has been effective in educating legislators about how Idaho’s property tax system operates and how different legislation would impact the property taxpayer. During the 2023 Legislative Session, both the House and Senate tax committees invited him to present about property taxes and how county budgeting works.

Seth has been instrumental in helping the legislature to understand the impact of unfunded mandates on county services and on property taxes. This understanding set the groundwork for getting the legislature to eliminate the county’s responsibility to provide medical indigent assistance and led to the state taking over the responsibility to fund and provide public defense with the passing of House Bills 735 and 236.

Seth cultivates an environment of respect and collaboration within his organization and in the partnerships that he’s built with other associations and stakeholders. For example, his relationship with the Associated Taxpayers of Idaho led to the opportunity to co-host a property tax symposium at the beginning of the 2022 legislative session. The symposium was offered virtually and in-person to legislators and local government officials. It kicked off with a ten-minute video presentation that he helped put together that explains how property taxes work in Idaho. The Idaho Statesman picked up the video and uses it to accompany articles they run regarding property taxes. The video has been viewed on YouTube over ten thousand times.

Beyond his highly technical policy expertise, this individual is a compassionate leader, husband, and father who has a gift for seeing the best in others. He and his wife have been married for seventeen years and they have two sons, who are his biggest fans. He loves traveling with his family to catch as many Major League Baseball games as possible. He is currently fulfilling his duties as coach to a fantasy football team that is not is not doing very well.

IAC was honored to acknowledge these exemplary individuals and highlight their many achievements and service to counties.

Additionally, Kristin Cundiff, IAC Director of Professional Development and Events, was honored for her 20 years of dedicated service to the association.

To see the full awards photo album from the conference and download pictures, visit our Flickr page.