The United Way of Richland County celebrated surpassing its annual goal and thanked the donors who made great contributions to the 2012 campaign at their annual awards dinner Thursday night at the Mid Ohio Educational Service Center.

United Way of Richland County executive director Bob Maxey said this has been a wonderful year for the agency.

"We easily surpassed our goal we set of $1.6 million. We finished at $1,660,000 going $60,000 over the goal," Maxey said.

"The role of the United Way is to identify the needs of the community. This year we went out and told our stories about the great needs of the people in our community that need help. The businesses and individuals that hlive here responded to the need," Maxey said.

The keynote speaker was Kelly Blay, vice President and general manager with CenturyLink. CenturyLink was the top company this year contributing more than $130,000 to the campaign.
 

Maxey said the money raised allows the United Way of Richland County to support the programs and services of its 25 partner agencies.