This printing powerhouse is the 2024 Valley Stream Republican Person of the Year

The Valley Stream Republican Club’s big night belonged to Noreen Carro, the club’s Person of the Year.

The March 15 ceremony was an occasion to turn the spotlight on the praiseworthy deeds of a Valley Stream resident, Republican or otherwise. This year, as in years past, there was a packed house at the banquet hall of the American Legion Post 854 where residents and Republican dignitaries gave a warm reception to Carro.

Carro, a lifelong Valley Stream resident, is co-owner of LMN Printing. The certified women’s and minority-owned printing service company was originally the brainchild of Carro’s parents Luis and Marry Carro. Natives of Puerto Rico, the Carro family came from humble beginnings with an even humbler origin story to their family business.

Banking on his experience as a pressman and foreman, according to the company’s website, Luis bought a used printing press for $125 in 1971, setting in motion the couple’s aspirations to set up their family printing business.

“We started out making raffle books,” said Carro. But to get the business off the ground and make it self-sustaining while maintaining a household required hours upon hours of work.

“My father worked three jobs,” said Carro.“He had the printing company and worked two other jobs until we were able to get established. My mother worked at Eastern Mills in the day to be able to help us, you know, keep the house.”

There were times, as a girl, when Carro and her sisters were treated to pancakes for dinner, not knowing their family couldn’t afford meat that week.

At first, Carro admitted she wanted no part in the business and wouldn’t make it easy for the family to bring her into the fold.

“They dragged me in,” she admitted.

But after her father died in 1996, the time had come for her and her three sisters to take the reins, which they did. And despite her initial gritted teeth, Carro took naturally to the networking side of the business and has never looked back. Under their sibling leadership, the company grew from a small printing start-up to a modern-day printing emporium with two current locations: one in Florida, and the other in Valley Stream.

A family legacy, a community anchor

Specializing in digital and offset printing, the company is a one-stop spot for printing items of all sizes, from the smallest of labels, noted Carro, to large-sized banners and posters. Operating for over half a century, it’s earned a rock-solid reputation for quality service, which has garnered a loyal cadre of business clients, large and small.

Notably, the company is contracted to make posters and custom forms for airlines at John F. Kennedy Airport.

Carro, who heads the printing company’s New York branch, has played no small part in LMN’s success. As the networking face of the company, she has deepened its business ties with Valley Stream’s local business scene and beyond.

She sat as the president of the Valley Stream Chamber of Commerce and currently sits as the Vice President of the John F. Kennedy Chamber of Commerce. Her talent for making business connections has also allowed her to reach women and minority entrepreneurs as a mentor. Something she feels naturally called to do.

“Even though it’s a changed world, women, especially young women, need mentorship to teach them about philanthropy and entrepreneurship, to show them that they can be even better than what they are today,” she said, who often lets worthwhile entrepreneurs shadow through her hectic work schedule and write them recommendation letters.

While Carro has found enduring success as a prominent small business owner, it hasn’t been a blemish-free undertaking. She’s guided her business through the rises and falls of the printing industry and the family’s fortunes: adapting to technological shocks, the downturn of the pandemic, and even, the death of a sibling.

Yet the lasting relationships she’s forged through her business, she says, are the fuel for her perseverance. 

“Having my business here and having it be accepted and a staple in this town is wonderful,” said Carro. “I mean how many people can say I have been working, living, and doing business in Valley Stream for 45 years? I mean that’s incredible.”

Have an opinion on this article? Send an email to jlasso@liherald.com.