ARLINGTON — Terry Marsh doesn’t volunteer for the recognition — the Arlington resident does it for the people.

“It’s not about the projects that I’ve done, it’s about the relationships that I’ve built doing those projects,” said Marsh, an Arlington resident. “I love to volunteer. It’s always been a part of my life.”

Marsh, who served as a construction supervisor during the building of five Arlington schools and project manager of the city’s Olympic Avenue reconstruction, was recently named the 2009 Arlington-Smokey Point Chamber of Commerce “Citizen of the Year.”

Marsh received the award during the chamber’s annual dinner and auction April 10.

“It was not even on my radar — it was such a huge surprise,” Marsh said. “All I can really say is it just really shows how much I love Arlington and the people of Arlington. It’s just a great community and the volunteering I do is leveraged so much by others.”

During the event, Marsh was also recognized for his past and present volunteer efforts. Marsh is an active member of the Arlington Kiwanis Club, Arlington Arts Council, the Downtown Arlington Business Association and Kids Kloset.

One of Marsh’s recent endeavors was cutting and sanding more than 350 fish cutouts for the arts council’s “Some Things Fishy in Arlington” community art project last year.

Those fish, colored and decorated by Arlington residents and businesses, were on display near Interstate 5 and throughout Arlington through the winter in an effort to attract people to visit the city.

In addition to his efforts with those organizations, Marsh volunteers at Regency Care Center and Olympic Place, where he teaches wood crafting.

Marsh is a retired school teacher and administrator, who worked in the Everett School District.

Marsh, who admits to trying to avoid attention during his volunteer work, said his being named “Citizen of the Year” was a well-kept secret.

Chamber members were showing a Power Point presentation during the April fundraiser and Marsh’s picture came up.

“I looked up and saw my picture washing windows at Kids Kloset and it finally dawned on me,” Marsh said. “I looked at my wife and she was beaming and I knew that I’d been had. I couldn’t believe they were talking about me.”

Michael Prihoda, executive director of the chamber, said Marsh could barely speak when he was told that he was the citizen of the year.

“He was stunned,” Prihoda said. “He was just so flabbergasted that he was selected. We finally got him to walk up to the microphone and when he finally spoke, he said ‘I love Arlington.’”

Prihoda said the chamber Board voted on Marsh to receive the award at the end of 2009.

“He’s the guy who’s busier retired than he ever was employed,” he said.