Business

Tompkins Bank of Castile has promoted Mickey Hyde to vice president, branch manager of the Le Roy branch.

Hyde has been with Tompkins for over 13 years. In his work managing the Le Roy branch, Hyde concentrates on developing relationships with small businesses throughout the community as well as tailoring a wide variety of personal banking solutions to our local customers.

“Mickey has done a phenomenal job as our Le Roy branch manager,” said Diane Torcello, senior vice president, community banking. “He has a strong commitment to helping members of the Le Roy community with their personal and business related finances, and Tompkins Bank of Castile is lucky to have him on our team.”

Hyde is very involved in the community, serving as the chair for the steering committee for Leadership Genesee, on the Junior Achievement Advisory Board, and as a member of the Rochester Press-Radio Club. He is also a member of the Le Roy Moose Club, the LPS Kiwanis and the Sons of the American Legion. He volunteers in many capacities with Le Roy Central School, such as in Junior Achievement, Lunch with Leaders, Mock Interviews, Career Day and the Le Roy Job Fair. Hyde has been inducted into both the Genesee Community College and the Pavilion Central School’s Hall of Fame. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Eckerd College.

He and his wife, Toni, live in Le Roy with their two daughters, Naomi and Samantha.

The p.w. minor factory was open last night for a "friends and family night" with tours, refreshments and a chance to buy a new pair of p.w. minor shoes.

The event was part of p.w. minor's rollout of new product lines, the Abram Boots and Batavia Boots and Shoes.

Above, CEO Pete Zeliff shows off a pair of Patriot boots to Brian Kemp. And below, Ron DiSalvo, the former owner of DiSalvo's Shoes, a retail outlet he operated in Downtown Batavia from 1967 to 2007.

Retail shoe sales are returning to Downtown Batavia through a partnership between p.w. minor and Charles Men's Shop.

The timeline has been pushed back, but expectations are still high for the eventual success of 1366 Technologies, the Bedford, Mass.-based solar wafer maker that anticipates eventually creating 1,000 new jobs in Genesee County.

Even as the process moves along slowly, 1366 continues to go forward.

Last week, the company announced a new record in solar power efficiency for a wafer in their product category; in August it unveiled a new beveled edge on its wafer, which helps retain wafer strength while keeping the wafer very thin.

These breakthroughs will help further reduce the cost of the energy produced by solar panels that use 1366's wafers.

The stated goal of 1366 is to help make the production of electricity from solar cheaper than electricity produced by coal.

That might have seemed like a moonshot-ambition when plans to locate 1366's manufacturing plant in the Town of Alabama were first announced two years ago, but the cost of solar energy has dropped by two-thirds in recent years and there are parts of the world now where solar arrays are producing electricity at a cost below that of coal.

In the rapidly evolving technology field, it might seem like delays in getting a new plant open would cause the business owners to worry about losing precious time, but that isn't the case, according to a spokeswoman for 1366.

"I’m sure you’ve noted this, but our path to commercial success has been methodical from day one," Laureen Sanderson said. "It’s one of the reasons why we’re now in a position to scale in a big way. It’s incredibly important to us that we’re careful stewards of all resources sent our way – private and public – and we think we’ve done a good job of balancing the demands to get to market quickly while taking what we see as essential steps to remove all risk – like getting a customer contract in place before a factory is even built."

The cost reductions achieved by the solar industry so far are largely incremental and the result of increasing scale, not big improvements in the technology. The silicon wafers used in solar panels today are made the same way solar wafers have been made for 40 years. The 1366 process is radically different.

Because the company is built around patented, proprietary technology and processes, officials believe they will come to market with a disruptive and competitive advantage whenever they ramp up to full-scale production.

"Direct Wafer technology is a singular achievement," Sanderson said. "We’re the first and only company to solve this manufacturing challenge. There are many great solar innovations out there but they’re in labs. Science projects. It takes years to move from the lab to the factory floor; most ideas never do. What we’ve achieved isn’t easy and the industry knows that."

What exactly is delaying groundbreaking at the new technology park in Alabama, WNY STAMP, isn't clear.

When we've asked Steve Hyde -- CEO of Genesee County Economic Development Center and the first advocate for a technology park in Genesee County more than a decade ago -- about the delays, he says everybody is continuing to diligently work on the process; there is ongoing progress, and he quotes one of his favorite phrases, "Economic development is a marathon. It isn't a sprint."

A year ago, officials expected to break ground in the spring. In September, Hyde said there would be a groundbreaking in the fall. Now, the earliest estimate is this coming spring.

Reached this morning, Hyde said infrastructure and construction bidding will start after the first of the year. Water service and the main entrance road will be bid out first. 

"2017 will be a busy year for construction," Hyde said. 

Frank van Mierlo, CEO of 1366, told E&E News earlier this year that he expects to be up and running at STAMP by the end of 2017. Van Mierlo reportedly told E&E that "permitting and red tape" have slowed progress.

"We're moving," he said. "It's certainly not moving as rapidly as one might hope." 

"It's going to be a stretch," he added. "The end of the year rather than the beginning. We definitely want to be in construction next year."

The reason everyone remains so upbeat about the prospects of 1366 is it seems like the company has charted a solid business model built on breakthrough technology.

This isn't PepsiCo trying to enter an already crowded Greek yogurt sector with a barely differentiated product and hoping marketing and supply chain alone could win. This is a company entering an emerging industry with growing demand and a process that will substantially reduce the cost of production.

"Nobody is close. We can produce the wafer at 30 cents a wafer," van Mierlo told E&E News. "Even at today's prices, you are still very profitable. At today's prices, nobody else is profitable. That is the point.

"There's no false modesty here," he added. "Our technology is truly revolutionary when it comes to reducing costs."

In his best-selling business book, "Zero to One," venture capitalist Peter Thiel says new businesses should be built around innovations that are a 10-times improvement over anything currently in the market. 1366 seems to be hitting that mark.

"The Direct Wafer process is a dramatic improvement over the way wafers are manufactured today and it’s specific to us," Sanderson said. "(We achieve a) 50-percent reduction in cost and two-thirds energy reduction over conventional (production) methods. Better yet is the product – which costs less and uses less (energy) to make, doesn’t require any tradeoffs in performance."

That's why the recent efficiency tests were so important. 

Efficiency is the measure of how much sunlight that hits a solar wafer is converted into electricity. The 1366 wafer was tested in conjunction with new technology from a partner company, Hanwha Q CELLS Co. Ltd., of Seoul, South Korea.

While there is other solar technology that has achieved higher efficiency, that isn't the norm in the industry.

"In a head-to-head comparison with standard high-performance multicrystalline (HPM) wafers, we exceeded the average performance of that HPM reference group," Sanderson said. "And there are more gains to be had through new wafer features that are possible because we’re able to work at the melt level. There’s no other company in the world able to do that."

In the startup world, the common advice, and the practice often most attractive to potential investors is a company that aims at a specific market segment, an achievable target that promises growth.

For 1366, their approach is to make only wafers (compared to Solar City, opening in Buffalo, that makes not just the wafer, but the entire solar panel and even handles installation) and sell them to companies on an international market that will make panels for industrial solar installations.

That's a very specific market, and 1366 already has customers lined up, most notably, Hanwha, their partner in the recent efficiency tests. The company has also secured an investment from silicon supplier Wacker Chemie.

Silicon, of course, is the key ingredient in making solar wafers. It's a derivative of sand, but unlike the process used to make silicon wafers for four decades, which involves shaving down silicon ingots into the appropriate shape and thickness, 1366 wafers are poured from molten silicon, like glass is made, using techniques developed at MIT.

This is why the wafers that will be made in Genesee County will cost less and produce less waste.

A key reason 1366 picked STAMP as its eventual manufacturing home is the availability of low-cost hydropower, itself an environmentally friendly, renewable energy source. That will also make it easier for 1366 to keep production costs down.

The proximity to Buffalo, however, has invited comparisons between 1366 and Solar City, which is opening at Riverbend and has been an ongoing source of speculation and controversy, but 1366 and Solar City are really very different companies. 

Solar City, as noted, is a vertically integrated manufacturer and distributor -- so much so that company Chairman Elon Musk has merged Solar City with Tesla, his company that makes electric cars. Musk wants to control the entire energy supply chain for his vehicles, from converting to solar energy to powering the batteries that Telsa makes, too.

A big part of Solar City's business model has long been residential solar installations, a market that has been seemingly dependent on state and federal tax subsidies, subsidies that have come under criticism and may not last under the Trump Administration.

While Trump campaigned on a promise to save coal jobs, every cabinet appointment he's made so far, notably Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon for secretary of state, and Rick Perry, for the Department of Energy, are hardly friendly to coal. They're interest lies closer to natural gas, currently coal's primary competitor for electricity generation, but that also wouldn't seem to bode well for backers of solar power.

Sanderson said 1366 isn't worried.

"Solar is a global industry and it’s growing rapidly," Sanderson said. "That’s not changing. Our technology will further support this growth as we continue the trend of costs coming down. We help to make solar even more accessible and we want to support this global growth with U.S. manufacturing and U.S. jobs."

There's still plenty of R&D work to do on solar, Sanderson noted, and 1366 received early-stage R&D funding from the Department of Energy.

"It’s important to keep in mind that while we’re a solar company, we’re also a manufacturer," Sanderson said. "We’re looking forward to working with the next administration to create U.S. manufacturing jobs."

In this case, of course, U.S. manufacturing jobs should translate into Genesee County manufacturing jobs. Time will tell.

Steve Foster and Tim Adams, owners of the Red Osier restaurant, dedicated the month of November to charity for the local community.

The restaurant has always been closed on Thanksgiving, but this year, they opened for business, with many staff members donating their time to work; all the proceeds from meals served that day were donated to local charities.

During the month, the restaurant also raised $7,965 for Genesee Cancer Assistance. Foster and Adams added their own money to the pot and today turned over a $10,000 check.

Red Osier also donated two truckloads of food to the Le Roy Food Pantry.

Above, Red Osier staff members with some of the clothing items, including socks and underwear, collected for local donation.

Submitted photo.

   Annette Granger    Theresa Nicastro

Press release:

At Tompkins Bank of Castile, we recognize that decades of service characterize our stability and loyalty as an organization. We are pleased to honor our longtime employees who have contributed so much to the Tompkins Bank of Castile. Our customers have benefited from their knowledge and experience, and our company values these great employees.

Diana Williams, assistant vice president of the Avon branch, is celebrating 35 years with the bank. She began her banking career in 1977 as a part-time teller at the American Express branch in Augsburg, Germany. When she moved to the United States, she stayed with the financial services industry and began working for Chase at the East Avon branch, which was purchased by The Bank of Castile in 1994. Diana and her husband, Richard, live in Livonia. They have three children and four grandchildren. She is active in the Avon Rotary and Junior Achievement.

The following employees are celebrating 25 years of service:

Theresa Nicastro is the assistant manager of Commercial Loan Operations. She is active in planning, organizing and coordinating efficient service of commercial loans for Tompkins Bank of Castile as well as the three other banks of Tompkins Financial Corp. She began her career as a teller in the Perry branch and has held numerous positions ranging from administrative assistant to branch manager. She says being a part of the Tompkins family is a special blessing and loves being a part of such a wonderful organization. She and her partner, Steve, reside in Silver Springs along with their two rescue dogs.

Annette Granger started in the Proof Department and was working as a commercial credit Services Associate at our Operations Center in Perry until she retired this past year. We appreciate her years of dedicated service, and wish her well in retirement!

Debbie James, vice president – Consumer Product Manager, works to ensure a superior customer experience and that our products are competitive and customer-friendly. Her first job was as a teller in the Perry branch. She has continued to grow within our company, serving several years as the Castile Branch Manager. Based at our Operations Center in Perry, her current responsibilities encompass all of Tompkins Financial Corporation. Debbie and her husband, Brad, have two children, Erika and Michael. They live in Silver Springs.

Carolyn Francis, assistant vice president, Small Business Credit officer, joined the bank in 1986 and has held various positions. She started in the Proofing Department, went to the mortgage department and finally landed in the commercial department working specifically with small businesses in the community. Carolyn left the bank for a brief time, but said she came back because she loves all the great people that she works with and they are like family to her. Carolyn resides in Fillmore with her husband, Greg. They have two children and two grandchildren.

"Our employees are truly what differentiate our company, delivering superior customer service every day,” said John McKenna, president & CEO of Tompkins Bank of Castile.“We work hard to provide a rewarding and engaging workplace which helps us attract the best talent and results in extraordinary consistency of our employee base."

Tompkins Bank of Castile values the commitment and service these employees have given our company. We would like to thank them for their years of service and congratulations!

   Diana Williams     Carolyn Francis    Debbie James

Press release:

Tompkins Bank of Castile prides itself on being a community bank, and one of our core values is our commitment to the communities we serve. During the holiday season, our staff in each branch selects local organizations to receive special contributions to make the holidays brighter. Our Le Roy branch selected the Le Roy Food Pantry to receive a $500 donation. The Le Roy Food Pantry has provided for people in need, free of charge, without question for several years. It is maintained by volunteers and is an effort among the local churches in the Le Roy community.

Mickey Hyde, Le Roy branch manager; Christine Orto, teller in the Le Roy branch; and Danielle Clark, Tompkins Insurance account manager, present checks to Judy Riley (second from left) of the Le Roy Food Pantry.

Emmaline Long didn't grow up on a farm, but she grew up loving everything about farming. She always wanted to work in agriculture and after graduating from Cornell University with a degree in Agricultural Sciences, Long landed what she describes as her dream job, crop production manager for CY Farms in Elba.

The 2008 graduate of Byron-Bergen High School has a passion for farming that goes beyond just her job. She is chair of the New York 4-H Foundation, co-chair of the Genesee County Young Farmers and Ranchers and serves on the precision agriculture advisory committee at Genesee Community College.

All this passion, all this dedication to farming is why she received the Excellence of Agriculture Award from the New York Farm Bureau at its statewide convention last week.

The award is given annually to a person between the ages of 18-36 who derives most of his or her income from agriculture but doesn't own a farm.

She describes the award as humbling.

"Because I’m passionate about a lot of things, it’s nice to be recognized for the things I have been doing, and that putting myself out there and being a leader doesn’t go unnoticed," Long said.

Although Long didn't grow up on a farm, farming was always part of her life. Her dad had owned a dairy farm before she was born and she and her parents always worked their garden and her dad would ride her around in his lap on their tractor. In high school, she started raising a rare, heritage breed of sheep, Lincoln longwools. She was a member of 4-H and competed annually at the Genesee County Fair.

"(Agriculture) is in my blood," she said. "I've always loved it. It's always been something I've been interested in."

She still has her flock and hopes someday she can make enough from selling wool to pay for her hobby.

Her job at CY Farms, which she started two and a half years ago, affords her the opportunity to be involved in a wide variety of ag-related jobs, from managing and planning what crops get planted where, and managing the nutrients they will need, to handling disease and pest control in an environmentally friendly way, plus handling all the ag precision data. She also puts out the farm's newsletter. 

“I found it difficult to find one aspect of the industry I liked more than the others," she said. "I like forage crops and I like vegetable crops and I like grain crops and I couldn’t decide what I wanted to focus on, so I was specifically looking for a farm to work on that I could get involved in all the different aspects of the industry."

She's currently working on her master's thesis for a degree in Animal Science.

When she first graduated, she kind of thought her career path might have her working on a farm for a couple of years and them moving to a job with another, bigger agriculture company, but she's found she loves being involved in the local ag community, where everybody knows everybody and supports everybody, and she loves working at CY Farms, so it's now hard to imagine moving on.

"I love the operation and the opportunity they've been able to give me, so it’s hard to look forward because I’m content to work where I am now,"

Next month, Long will find out if her experience and passion for agriculture helps her win the same title at the national level of the Farm Bureau. She will be among 40 candidates for the award when the national organization holds its convention in Phoenix.

Previously: CY Farms grew from the good land

It was supposed to be a just a little Christmas decoration contest with the loser buying the winner pizza, but both the order processing department and the technical customer service department at Liberty Pumps in Bergen have gone full Clark Griswold this year.

"I'm sure the money spent individually by these Liberty members is way more than free pizza," said Laurie Pfaff, who sent in the pictures.

Press release:

For nearly 80 years, Ferrellgas has provided propane service to homes, farms, and businesses in our community and across the nation. With the help of local residents, Ferrellgas plans to deliver more than just propane this holiday season.

Ferrellgas is collecting new and gently used coats, hats, scarves, and gloves this year and putting them into the hands of less fortunate members of our community.

Donations can be given to Ferrellgas deliverymen or brought to the Ferrellgas office at 655 Ellicott St. Batavia, NY 14020 through Dec. 30. At the end of the coat drive, Ferrellgas will donate items collected to one or more local charities.

“Ferrellgas is proud to provide a product that helps keep people in our community warm and provides some comfort in their lives,” says Doug Muha, Ferrellgas’ local director of Operations. “But we realize that too many local residents will struggle to stay warm this winter because they don’t have an adequate coat. Our goal is to help provide one to as many people here as possible. Thanks to the generous members of our community, we look forward to doing just that.”

Muha said local residents do not have to be customers of Ferrellgas to participate in the coat drive.

More information about Ferrellgas can be found at www.Ferrellgas.com.

Press release:

State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer has started a new petition for residents to urge Governor Cuomo and members of the State Legislature to expand ridesharing services, such as Uber and Lyft, to Upstate New York.  The petition is available online at ranzenhofer.nysenate.gov.

“While New York City residents are able to enjoy ridesharing services, Upstate New Yorkers have been left behind. Expanding access to these transportation companies is long overdue,” Ranzenhofer said. “Working together, we can send a strong message: give the green light to ridesharing in Western New York. I encourage residents to express their support for this legislation by signing my petition.”

Currently, transportation network companies operate only in New York City.  Senator Ranzenhofer has co-sponsored (S.4580A) and voted for legislation (S.4108D) to make these transportation services available across the entire state.

“New York has repeatedly stood in the way, whether by over-regulation or outright banning, of professional services that are legal and available in most states and cities across the nation. There is no reason why residents, from Rochester to Buffalo, should be prevented from requesting an Uber when they could easily do so in Boston, Cleveland and Milwaukee,” Ranzenhofer said.
 

When we launched our Deal of the Day program, I shared that this was the first step toward my intention to write code, to create a series of programs that I hope will better serve local residents and local businesses.

Today, we announce the next big step along this path -- launching a new site to help promote local businesses, ShopLocal.TheBatavian.com.

I built this, no vendor, no open source software, because none of the options really did what I think a site like this should do for local businesses and local residents. What ShopLocal.TheBatavian.com is today is not what it will be a year or even two years from now. This is just the foundation, a framework. I will add more and more services and functions as time permits.

And stay tuned, in the next day or two we will announce the first in a series of contests tied into this new site.

Meanwhile, visit ShopLocal.TheBatavian.com and email me with any feedback, suggestions or errors you find: howard@thebatavian.com.

Also, if you own a local business and it's not listed, call our office at (585) 250-4118 and ask for Dawn Puleo. She can assist you.

At least 55 local children were able to shop at Walmart for free today, with the help of police officers from three local agencies, so they could find Christmas presents to give to family members.

This is the second straight year Walmart has hosted the event, which is designed to help children from families who might not otherwise be able to afford Christmas presents for parents, grandparents and brothers and sisters.

In all, about nine police officers from Batavia PD, along with 19 deputies from the Sheriff's Office and more than a dozen troopers participated in the event.

Photos courtesy Investigator John Dehm, Genesee County Sheriff's Office.

Emerson, 2, and Avalon, 6, were among the dozens of kids who stopped in at Adam Miller Toy and Bicycles today to share their Christmas wishes with Santa.

Press release:

Members of the Arc of Genesee Orleans Board of Directors, a nonprofit that is a resource of choice for people with disabilities and their families for both Genesee and Orleans counties, accept a $2,500 check as winner of Tompkins Bank of Castile’s second Community Minute Challenge.

Through the social media contest, the public voted for select not-for-profits in Genesee, Orleans, Livingston, Monroe and Wyoming counties.

From the left are: John McKenna, president & CEO of Tompkins Bank of Castile; Kevin Graham, CFO of Arc; Shelly Kordish, director of Education Services; Carolyn Dawson, director of Administrative Services; Jill Pegelow, director of Community Services; Patricia Kepner, director of Quality/Compliance; Donna Saskowski, executive director.

We would like to thank the organizations that participated in this round and who continue to do great work in our community: ARC of Genesee and Orleans County, Arts Council of Wyoming County, Big Springs Historical Society, Bishop Sheen Ecumenical Housing, GCASA, and Mercy Flight Central.  A third round of this contest will launch in early 2017 with details posted to Tompkins Bank of Castile’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/TompkinsBankofCastile).

Press release:

On Friday, Dec. 2, funeral directors Justin Calarco-Smith, Joshua Smith and Steven Johnson of the H.E. Turner & Co., Bohm-Calarco-Smith, and Burdett & Sanford Funeral Homes were honored to present a check in the amount of $1,000 to Jim Neider and Tom Cecere of the Joint Veterans Honor Guard of Genesee County. 

This donation was made in the names of the 31 area veterans who the funeral home group was privileged to arrange funeral services for in the past year. 

The Joint Veterans Honor Guard is a dedicated group of volunteers comprised of veterans from across our county. They provide funeral honors to our fallen. The honors include a color guard, the playing of TAPS, and a firing squad. This year, they have rendered honors to more than 60 fallen veterans throughout Genesee County.

One of only a handful of such organizations statewide, Genesee County is extremely fortunate to have selfless volunteers who are at the ready in a moment’s notice.  They stand, without complaint, in the heat, cold, wind, snow and rain to pay final tribute to their comrades. 

“We are humbled by the members of our community who selflessly served this great nation. Additionally, we consider it a privilege to care for our veterans and their families when called upon,” said Funeral Director Justin Calarco-Smith, who along Joshua Smith, Randy McIntire, James Smith and Steven Johnson operate H.E. Turner & Co. Funeral Homes in Batavia and Bergen, Bohm-Calarco-Smith Funeral Home in Batavia, and the Burdett & Sanford Funeral Home in Oakfield.

“This donation will allow us to continue to honor and serve Genesee County’s veterans in the manner they deserve for a long time to come,” said Jim Neider, commander of the Honor Guard.

The funeral homes plan to honor the veterans they care for annually by making similar donations to a local veterans organization each year.

Photo: Steven Johnson, Tom Cecere, Joshua Smith, Jim Neider and Justin Calarco-Smith.

Press release:

The Board of Directors of the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) approved applications for assistance from TJ Sheehan and Empire Pipeline at the agency’s Dec. 1 meeting.

TJ Sheehan, a Massachusetts-based wholesaler, is proposing to convert a former 37,500-square-foot Cargill facility in Alexander to a refrigerated beverage distribution center. The total capital investment of the project is approximately $1.678 million and it will create nine new jobs. For every dollar of public benefit there is a $20.40 return into the local economy. The incentive amount is $230,878.

The board also accepted an application and set a public hearing for a request for assistance from Yancey’s Fancy, in which the company will invest $5.5 million to expand and renovate the original Kutter's Cheese facility on Main Street in Pembroke from 6,000 square feet to 34,000 square feet. The expansion is expected to create up to 15 full-time jobs. For every one dollar of public benefit, the company is investing $117 into the local economy in Genesee County. 

In 2014-15, Yancey’s Fancy invested more than $20 million and built a 112,000-square-foot facility at the Buffalo East Technology Park, which created new 50 jobs.

“We are very excited to be supporting these exciting expansion projects which will inject significant capital investment and create 24 new jobs,” said GCEDC Chairman Paul Battaglia. “The agency is finishing the year on a very strong note.”

Empire Pipeline owns and operates a compressor station and pipeline in the Town of Oakfield and is seeking a new 15-year fixed PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes). All taxing jurisdictions have consented to the new PILOT structure. The project payments will enable water infrastructure installation as part of the Genesee County Phase II improvements, some of which will support the Western New York Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park (WNY STAMP) project in the Town of Alabama.

Press release:

The Innovation Zone in the Upstate MedTech Center is hosting an event for businesses, entrepreneurs, and start-up companies regarding various incentives to assist their businesses.

The event will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 7^th from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at 99 MedTech Drive, Suite 107, Batavia. It’s free and open to all business leaders including entrepreneurs and start-up companies ready to take their business to the next level with increased research and Development (R&D) activity.   

Certified Public Accountants from FreedMaxick including, Don Warrant, Sam Disalvo, Joesph Burwick, and Nick Zoyhofski will present on a variety of topics ranging from how the federal research tax credit system works to incentives available from New York State companies.  The presentation will focus on the manufacturing, technology, life sciences, medical devices and the software industries.

In addition to FreedMaxick, sponsors include the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, the Genesee County Economic Development Center, Livingston County Development, Orleans County Economic Development Agency and the Wyoming County IDA.