Merrick’s Main Man

As part of the Merrick Library's teen writing workshop with local author Jen Calonita, students were given the opportunity to learn how to interview someone, write an article about them and see their work published on the Merrick Patch. This is their article about local Merrick businessman Doug Mills.

Written by: Shelby Kravitz, Monica Marzec and Gina York

Who’s the last person you know that owned their own business at nineteen? Meet Merrick’s all-around guy, Douglas Mills, a long-time Merrick resident who lives in town with his wife and two sons.

Today, you might know him as the owner of the Printing Emporium on Merrick Avenue, a longtime participant in the Merrick Kiwanis Club, or as the founder of the Merrick Street Fair, but growing up in Merrick, Doug was just a kid who loved printing.

On a field trip touring the Johnston’s Yearbook Factory, he became interested in old-fashioned letter presses and continued on at Calhoun with the Boces program. At fourteen, he took his printing dreams one step further and applied for a job at local printing shops.

“I walked into Printing Emporium and said, ‘Hi, My name is Doug Mills. I’m very good at printing. I think you should hire me. I would be a great asset to your company.’” Surprisingly the owner turned him down. Later on that night at dinner, his mom asked if he was upset and Doug said, “No, I’ll go somewhere else tomorrow.” Then the phone rang. The owner called to say that his wife thought he was crazy for not hiring such an ambitious kid so he offered him a job after all. By nineteen, Doug owned the company.

Doug is proud of what the Printing Emporium offers Merrick. They’ve worked with many companies such as McDonalds and Fortunoff’s and offer 600,000 items on their website that can be imprinted, including different products and colors.

But what he’s equally proud of is his many contributions to Merrick. “If you want to be part of your community and activate change you need to be close to the engine that activates change,” said Doug.

He’s a member of the Merrick Chamber of Commerce, sits on the president’s advisory council for the Coalition Against Domestic Violence and, believe it or not, is a nationally registered Girl Scout who has done a lot of work with the organization.

Doug is actively involved in the Merrick Kiwanis Club and started involving his sons in the organization at a young age. One story that Doug told was particularly inspiring. He had taken his two young sons to deliver food to a family in need in Merrick. They pulled up to a nice house and were told the renter lived around back. When the woman opened the door, his sons could see the family needed help.

“My son opened the refrigerator and there was nothing in it. My son was mortified,” he said.

At the time, they didn’t understand the unfortunate situation of the family, but now they have a grasp on it and are very into giving back as well.

Growing up and going to what is now called Fayette School, Doug said Merrick has changed in a lot of great ways. He loves being part of this community and it wouldn’t be surprising to find him dining at R.S. Jones, picking up fresh flowers on Fridays at local flower shops, or getting his cup of Joe at Boswell’s Deli in the morning.

Is there anything on Doug’s Merrick wishlist he’s yet to accomplish? One of the charities that he works with, The Nassau County Coalition Against Domestic Violence, is losing some of its funding and Doug wishes he had more ways to help. “My dream would be to be a philanthropist,” said Doug. “I wish I was in a position to say, ‘All you need is a quarter of a million dollars?’ And then I could write them a check. That would make me very happy.”