Longtime community volunteer and Anacortes City Councilman Nick J. Petrish was chosen by the Skagit County Bar Association and Skagit County Community Action Agency’s Volunteer Lawyer Program as the winner of the 2008 Liberty Bell Award.

“It’s obviously an honor to be selected for this award,” Petrish said Monday.

The Liberty Bell Award, which is reserved for those who exemplify the ideals of community service and the U.S. Constitution, was presented at the Skagit County Bar Association’s annual Law Day Luncheon May 1.

The name of the winner is typically kept secret until the last minute, when the honoree is lured to the event by a friend or relative.

“They kept it a good secret. I had an inkling a couple of days before,” Petrish said.

Former Liberty Bell winner Wallie Funk said the honor is well-deserved.

“All the way around, from his days as a high school student here, he was always a good person. He always espoused good things,” Funk said.

Petrish, 70, graduated from Anacortes High School and the University of Washington.

He has been a claims adjuster at a Mount Vernon law firm of Luvera, Barnett, Brindley, Beninger and Cunningham for 30 years.

Before that he fished and worked as a juvenile probation officer and an insurance claims adjuster.

His elected service includes 12 years on the Anacortes School Board. He was appointed to the City Council in 1997, then elected in 2003 and 2007. He served as Mayor Pro Tem in 2006.

A founder of the Anacortes Arts Festival, Petrish served seven years on its board and one as board chair. He spent 23 years on the Skagit County Civil Service Commission and two terms on the Anacortes Library Board.

He is a founder of the American Croatian Club of Anacortes, finance chairman of the Causland Memorial Park restoration and a member of the Anacortes Chamber of Commerce and St. Mary Catholic Church. He was a charter member of the Vela Luka Croatian Dance Ensemble.

Funk said Petrish began contributing to the community as soon as he returned from college and joined efforts to start the Arts and Crafts Festival. He said Petrish’s achievements have been done quietly.

“Nick was never one who was at the center of great controversy,” Funk said. “He has really been respected for his attitude. I like him because he is a person who is reasonable.”

The Liberty Bell Award is presented each May to recognize an individual for outstanding service in one of the following areas: enhancing and/or protecting cultural and ethnic diversity and tolerance within the community; promoting a better understanding of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights; encouraging greater respect for the law and courts; stimulating a deeper sense of individual responsibility so that citizens recognize their duties as well as their rights; contributing to the effective functioning of our institutions of government; and fostering a better understanding and appreciation of the rule of law.

The Liberty Bell Award was established in 1968, said Funk, who received the award in 2002. The first recipient was Percy Stendal of Sedro-Woolley.

Since then, many Anacortesans have received the honor, including Paul Luvera Sr., Arnel Johnson, Dr. C. Duane Lowell, Knute Figenshow, Charles N. Williams, Jim Rice, Dr. James Ford, Reg LaBrun, Gary Nelson, Bud Strom, Funk, Jerry Mansfield, Duane Berentson and now Nick Petrish.

Petrish is honored to be included on such a roster.

“There’s some heavy hitters and I’m proud to be among them,” he said.