Val Woods, a compassionate nurse with over 18 years of experience, found her life’s purpose reshaped by a tragic event in 2018. The sudden loss of
her only sibling to a ruptured aneurysm inspired her to equip people with the knowledge, confidence, and skills needed to act in emergency situations. Her mission: Train people to save lives. This is the story of Val’s remarkable journey from grief to resilience, making a profound impact on her community. Val embarked on her entrepreneurial journey by engaging with business support organizations like the Small Business Administration (SBA), SCORE, and the Ohio APEX Accelerator.

Kendra Hovey is the Executive Director of Healing Broken Circles, a Columbus-based non-profit that provides alternatives to punitive based systems of incarceration and deficiency-based social services. Kendra Hovey was having difficulties in renewing her UEI in the SAM system in order to receive $50,000 in grant funding, a significant portion of her non-profit’s operational budget. Without an active registration, the payment could not be processed.

Miller Prosthetics & Orthotics fits amputees with artificial limbs, and orthotic braces and supports to all patients with a medical need. We have two offices: Belpre, Ohio and Parkersburg, WV. We learned that to serve amputee veterans who lived in West Virginia, VISN 5, we needed to have a prosthetic contract with the VA. The existing contract had two more years until it would accept new bids. That was in 2016, where this story begins.

Millspaw Electronics, headquartered in Ohio, successfully obtained Level 2 cybersecurity readiness certification with support from PTAC and Ohio University’s program. This achievement not only enhances their ability to subcontract with the Department of Development but also strengthens their position in the nuclear technology sector by demonstrating their commitment to robust cybersecurity practices.

When the Army Corps of Engineers asked Ohio’s Apex Accelerator to help to promote a riverbank stabilization project, Karen Wivell had a good idea
who to contact. Nerone and Sons, Inc. is a successful contractor based in Warrensville Heights. After doing projects in the Cleveland area for more than 70 years, the company recently began pursuing federal construction projects as a strategy to further build their business.