The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) is an SDSS-III survey that is obtaining high resolution near-IR (H band) spectra of 100,000 Milky Way stars in an effort to chemically trace formation and evolution of Galactic stellar populations. Optical echelle spectra of a small subset of survey targets have been obtained with the ARC 3.5m telescope for the purpose of 1) helping to understand and calibrate the abundance analysis of the APOGEE IR spectra, and 2) measuring abundances of elements that do not have spectral features in the APOGEE wavelength region, which will ideally include neutron capture elements. We present our current sample of ~130 (out of a projected 500) stars, which is drawn from the brightest APOGEE targets and covers a range of stellar parameters (temperature, metallicity, and surface gravity), and compare some optically derived quantities with those from the APOGEE abundance pipeline.