Volunteers with the United Way of West Central Mississippi Thursday celebrated exceeding their goal of $1.4 million in cash and pledges in the 2011 campaign by honoring those who played important parts in the charity campaign.

The total amount exceeds the organization’s goal by nearly $10,000, said Don Jarratt, the 2011 board chairman.

“The results were phenomenal,” he said.

The first awards of the night went to J.R. Armstrong and Linda Fondren, who shared the Campaign Chairperson Award for helping the organization surpass its monetary goal.

“The true meaning of teamwork was displayed in the 2011 campaign with J.R. and Linda at the helm of the endeavor,” Jarratt said.

Amy Haygood, vice president of Trustmark National Bank, was selected as the United Way Volunteer of the Year. Haygood led the Pace-setter Campaign in which 15 companies and Vicksburg Warren School District ran an early campaign to set momentum for the rest of the charity drive. This year the Pacesetters participants donated 39 percent of the total funds given to the campaign, Haygood said.

The Spirit of Vicksburg Award went to Anderson-Tully Co. The company managed to get through the May 2011 flood without closing by building levees around both ends of their property. Fewer than 60 days after the flood it chose to become a Pacesetter company.

This year’s recipients of the Bruce Alan Ebersole Jr. Memorial Scholarship were Jalan Dagher of Warren Central High School and Christopher Luke of St. Aloysius High School.

Other award winners were:

• Skipper Guizerix, 2011 Leadership Award

• Nancy Lindsey and Janice McKercher, Campaign Coordinators of the Year

• Entergy Operations, Traveling Leadership Award

• Ryan Lee, Donor Investment Chair

• Nathan Cummins and Ruby Johnson, Donor Investment Volunteers of the Year

• Walter Frazier, Agency Director of the Year

• The Vicksburg Post, Corporation of the Year

A national organization, United Way operates through local chapters that fund local needs. Money is collected through payroll deductions at participating employers and through private and corporate donations. For the local organization, a volunteer board then screens applications and distributes the money among organizations in five Mississippi counties and one Louisiana parish.