BAR HARBOR – Melissa Logan, one of the Sun Journal’s inside sales account executives and employment specialists, has been named Maine Press Association’s Advertising Person of the Year.

The award was bestowed during the press association’s annual conference and awards ceremony on Saturday.

In presenting the award, Kelly Wade, Sun Media Group advertising operations manager, called Logan persistent, the dictionary definition of which is “continuing firmly in a course of action despite difficulty or opposition.”

That, Wade said, is Logan and the very definition of how she approaches her job. So persistent, in fact, that the Sun Journal’s local phone company dubbed her a spam risk because she makes so many calls from the same number every day. To work around that obstacle, Logan is now assigned a rotation of phone numbers so she can maintain her calling pace.

According to Wade, Logan’s peers awarded her a can of Spam in honor of this achievement at a recent sales meeting.

Wade said Logan, who does all of her advertising sales, including recruitment ads, by phone, is confident, dedicated, resilient and perceptive. “I love having her on my team as she is always willing to brainstorm with her co-workers, come up with new ideas and new customers, and fully understands the value of what she is selling,” Wade said.

Wade said Logan is amazingly organized and very focused on serving the newspaper’s customers and readers, and has exceeded her sales goals 17 out of the last 18 months.

Sun Media Group Publisher Jody Jalbert said of Logan, “Melissa’s dedication and commitment to her customers is singular. She cares about their business and is their fiercest advocate. From the first phone call through to publication, she ensures they get what they pay for and more. There is no one more deserving of this award than Melissa Logan.”

Logan has worked very closely with local organizations on special sections to promote their events, including the annual LA Metro Chamber awards and the Kora Shriners FEZtival of Trees.

“Melissa cares deeply about her customers’ success, and the relationships she’s developed over the years have contributed to her success,” Wade said, calling Logan a critical part of the Sun Media Group’s sales team.

Before coming to the Sun Journal in 2012, Logan was the medical recruiter and account manager for Mountain Medical in New Gloucester, with a long history in recruitment and sales in biotech, information technology and the hospitality industry.

She graduated from Northeastern University in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and is a certified personnel consultant with the National Association for Personnel Services.

Logan was nominated by her peers in the newspaper’s advertising department, including Wade and Mike Blanchet, regional advertising sales and development director for the Sun Journal, Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel and Western Maine Weeklies.