Sarah M.
Aug 6, 2025
On Monday August 4, 2025, the Monroe County Finger Lakes APEX Accelerator hosted an event at the headquarters of Rochester Optical Manufacturing to announce that they have expanded and rebranded.
As a long-time advocate of the Monroe County Finger Lakes APEX Accelerator program, James M. Terhune, Chief Executive Officer of T&T Materials, Inc., was invited to attend the announcement that the Accelerator has been rebranded as the Monroe County Upstate NY APEX Accelerator. With the inclusion of Erie and Niagara Counties, the program now serves 13 counties across the officially designated NY SMART I Corridor, covering Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse regions.
This expansion will further the goal of strengthening the region’s defense and semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. Monroe County Executive Adam Bello and Congressman Joe Morelle highlighted that in the past five years, the program has helped secure roughly 20,000 contracts totaling over $1.1 billion in federal awards. All services are confidential and free of charge.
The APEX Accelerator program, under management of the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) hosted by Monroe County COMIDA within the Economic & Workforce Development Division, plays a critical role in the Department’s efforts to identify and engage with a wide range of businesses entering and participating in the defense supply chain. The program provides education and training that all businesses need to become capable of participating in DoD, federal, state, and local contracts. The APEX Accelerator mission is to serve as the axis for existing and new business to strengthen the defense industrial base by accelerating innovation, fostering ingenuity, and establishing resilient supply chains.
Following the event, Mr. Terhune expressed his congratulations to the Accelerator staff on this program and services expansion. Mr. Terhune observed, “Our company as well as myself personally have been the beneficiaries of the expertise, training and insights provided by the Accelerator’s professional staff. I am pleased to join with numerous small businesses within our region who acknowledge that the APEX Accelerator resources have been instrumental in our corporate success.”