Direct-mail marketing entrepreneur Gregory P. Demetriou has received an Outstanding CEO Award from Long Island Business News, recognizing him as one of Long Island’s leading executives.

Demetriou, founder and CEO of the Lorraine Gregory Communications Group in Farmingdale, NY, was honored along with 19 other Outstanding CEO recipients at a ceremony at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, NY, on May 9.

Originally a detective with the New York City Police Department, Demetriou retired from the force in 1981 after being wounded in a shooting incident that led to his receipt of an NYPD Medal of Honor. He and his brother, the late Bob Demetriou, established a high-volume mailing operation for a brokerage firm in 1988. Four years later, Demetriou and his wife, Lorraine, formed the Lorraine Gregory Corp. and purchased Bi-County Mailing, a small mailing company in Bethpage, NY.

Today, the Lorraine Gregory Communications Group comprises Bi-County Mailing and its affiliates American Mail Communications, Direct Printing Connection, and Precision Envelope & Printing Co. The family-run business offers a full spectrum of graphic communications services including mailing and list management, consultation, project management, writing and editing, graphic design, e-mail marketing, digital and offset printing, bindery, services, and variable data printing.

The group’s mission is to develop and expedite marketing campaigns that enable businesses and organizations to reach their target markets and audiences. The company serves a client list of over 1,200 businesses and not-for-profits from its Farmingdale facility, where 34 people are employed.

Demetriou was one of the inaugural recipients of the annual Outstanding CEO Awards, created to recognize business and not-for-profit executives on Long Island who have consistently demonstrated remarkable leadership skills, integrity, values, vision and a commitment to excellence, financial performance, community, and diversity.

The May 9 ceremony also included a posthumous tribute to Leroy R. Grumman, co-founder and later chairman of the legendary aviation company that bore his name. Its latter-day incarnation, Northrup Grumman, was one of the sponsors of the event. A complete account with bios of all the recipients can be read here.