The next time you see a trophy held high at a Long Island championship, there’s a chance it was made on the corner of North Park and Grand avenues in Rockville Centre.
For over five decades, Custom Awards Long Island has been quietly producing trophies, plaques and other awards from its North Park Avenue shop, a business that has changed hands over the years but remained rooted in the community.
Brian Scott, a former NYPD officer, Amityville police sergeant and Amityville Fire Department chief, took over the business in 2013. His path to becoming a trophy-shop owner began with a routine phone call to the previous owners.
In 2012, George Geyer, Lenny Miller and Bernie Havern — all former Nassau County detectives — were running the business when Scott called to place an order. He had used the shop while involved with the Amityville Police Benevolent Association.
“I had been using them when I was with the Amityville [Police Benevolent Association],” Scott said. “I had to place an order, and I called up and asked them, ‘What’s new?’ They said, ‘We’re selling the place.’ I was getting near retirement, and one thing led to another, and I ended up buying it.”
The decision gave Scott the opportunity to pursue something he had wanted to do for years: run his own business.
“I’d always had the bug to have my own business, and this came around,” Scott said.
Scott was not starting from scratch. Custom Awards Long Island had been part of Rockville Centre for decades before he took over. Resident Sam Macelli founded the business in the 1970s, initially making plaques in his garage.
As the operation grew, he opened a shop on North Park Avenue. Ownership changed over the years, but the business remained in town.
When Scott took over, he also had to learn the technical and creative sides of the trade. One of the previous owners taught him the basics of design, while advances in technology have changed the way awards are produced.
“One of the three owners before me taught me design and everything,” Scott said. “I have some proprietary software that I have to know, and then on top, you have to have a little design skill.”
New software, engraving technology and equipment have given Custom Awards Long Island more tools to work with, but Scott said there is still a creative element to producing a finished award.
His professional background has also given him an unusual connection to many of the customers who walk through the shop’s doors.
Custom Awards Long Island has worked with police and fire departments throughout New York City and Long Island, as well as hospitals, school districts and private businesses. Awards can mark everything from athletic accomplishments to professional milestones and years of service.
Scott’s experience in both law enforcement and the fire service has helped him understand what those departments are looking for.
“I have the unique perspective of understanding their wants and needs, and it helps that I know what they’re looking for,” Scott said. “Because of [my experience], I know what they need, and I know how to speak their ‘language,’ so to speak.”
For Scott, however, the business is about more than the awards themselves. He has been approached about merging with other businesses or moving the shop out of Rockville Centre, but he has chosen to stay put.
“I’ve been approached by businesses to merge, or to move out of Rockville Centre, but to me, this is the place to be,” Scott said. “It has everything. It’s got a great chamber of commerce, a great hospital, a college … there’s always something going on in town.”
