BANGOR – More than 40,000 families have benefited from the United Way of Eastern Maine in the past year, thanks to $2.679 million in donations, said Campaign Chairman Doug Jones on Wednesday night.

At a crowded Darling’s Dealership on Sylvan Road, Jones, sporting a cowboy hat he got from a United Way conference in Denver, celebrated the 2006 campaign finale with other donors. The message: Community members came through once again.

“This part of Maine has been behind us,” Jones said before his speech. “The turnout here has been phenomenal.”

In a show of appreciation, a Nissan Sentra donated by Darling’s, 500 gallons of heating fuel from R.H. Foster and a $1,000 L.L. Bean gift certificate were drawn as prizes for three donors at the end of the event.

Jones, the CEO of the Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth, announced that Jonathan Daniels, president of Eastern Maine Development Corp., will be campaign chairman for 2007. John Rohman, president of WBRC Architects-Engineers, is slated to be the 2008 chairman.

Vice chairman of the United Way board of directors Rob Sutcliffe thanked Jones for his service over the past year during the ceremony.

“He has exhibited the highest level of caring and leadership in running this campaign,” Sutcliffe said.

Last year, the United Way invested $3 million in community programs throughout Hancock, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Washington and Waldo counties.