Sara Wilhelm, former director of advertising and sales at the Lawrence Journal-World, recently won the Suburban Newspapers of America’s Advertising Director of the Year award.

The award was given as part of the 2008 SNA Advertising and Promotions Contest. The SNA received more than 1,200 entries, making it the most competitive contest in the history of SNA, which has nearly 2,400 member papers in the United States and Canada.

Al Bonner, Journal-World general manager, said, “Sara has been a key ingredient to the successful transition of an outstanding sales organization. Sara led a very talented team that made Marketplace a viable product for users and business customers.”

In addition, her volunteerism in the community is another strong leadership quality.

“Sara leads by example by participating in numerous groups and activities that results in tremendous volunteerism from the advertising department – one of the best ways to give back to your community and position your company as a community leader,” Bonner said.

Wilhelm now is vice president for sales and business development at Mediaphormedia, the commercial software division of The World Company, which owns the Journal-World.