KeyBank has named Erica Choi Capital Region market president, effective immediately. A 10-year banking veteran with 25 years of leadership experience, Choi will continue to serve as sales leader for KeyBank’s Commercial Bank in the Capital Region. She will succeed Fran O’Rourke, who has announced her retirement after serving as Capital Region market president since 2021.

 As market president and Commercial Bank sales leader, Choi will drive collaboration and coordination of KeyBank activities and resources in the market, serve as the face and voice of KeyBank in the community and manage a team dedicated to providing expertise and financial solutions to middle market clients in the Capital Region.

 “Erica has played an important role in Key’s success in the Capital Region since joining the Commercial Bank team as a senior banker in 2020,” said Michael McMahon, executive for Commercial Banking in Upstate New York. “Her client-focused approach, reputation as a motivational and team-oriented leader and role in the local community make her well poised to assume the role of market president. Fran O’Rourke leaves big shoes to fill, and Erica is just the person to carry KeyBank into the future in the Capital Region.”

 Prior to joining KeyBank, Choi worked for Bank of America in Albany as Middle Market relationship manager. She has also worked as senior area manager for the U.S. Small Business Administration in Albany, N.Y., senior brand manager for Beech-Nut Brand in Amsterdam, N.Y., and senior associate brand manager for Kraft Foods in Glenview, Ill.

By Paul Post

Jon LaRock’s restaurant odyssey has taken him from a South Glens Falls pizza shop to America’s last orange-roofed Howard Johnson’s, which he ran in Lake George before its closure several years ago.

“I started out at Ernie Jacobie’s (currently Humbuggs) at the corner of Gansevoort and Bluebird roads in South Glens Falls,” he said. “I used to pump gas for him across the street. Then one day he said, Do you want to start doing dishes? I said, Sure! Then I got into cooking. I was 15 years old.”

Last spring, with more than a half-century of experience under his belt, LaRock opened The Diner House at the corner of Main and Beech streets in Hudson Falls. Open daily, it specializes in breakfast and lunch menu items.

“This goulash is delicious,” Charles Mahay, a regular customer, said between bites. “And he makes a great hot turkey sandwich. I’ve had all the breakfast choices. I like them all. The Lumberjack special is my favorite.”

LaRock said he spent $5,000 to renovate the small space, a former aquarium shop. Now, after developing a local customer base, he plans on moving to a larger site, the former Seeley’s Restaurant, just down the road on Upper Broadway in Fort Edward.

Janice Durant established New Trails Business Consultants, Inc. in Queensbury a year ago. With more than 20 years of experience in franchising, she founded the company to help individuals transition from corporate careers to business ownership. She is passionate about empowering people to control their futures through entrepreneurship. “They might have always had that dream of being their own boss and working for themselves, maybe developing a family-owned business,” says Durant, “and I help them to explore opportunities.”

Durant’s own entrepreneurial journey began with a Sandler Training franchise in Albany, which she co-owned with her sister, Lorraine Ferguson, for 11 years. The experience provided her with firsthand knowledge of the benefits of franchising, including a standardized methodology, marketing support, and a pre-existing brand. After selling the franchise, she worked at Sandler’s corporate headquarters, where she led the franchise department and assisted new owners in getting started.

Durant, however, yearned for the independence of being her own boss again. “I was raised in a family of entrepreneurs—generations of business owners, including father-and-son teams, brothers, and married couples, all collaborating.” She felt a strong inclination towards consulting, a career she discovered through attending franchise conventions.

For individuals seeking to become a franchise owner, Durant’s services are complimentary. The franchisors compensate her for bringing them qualified leads. She begins by understanding the prospective owner’s “why”—what motivates them to seek business ownership. She looks for individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit and a willingness to follow a proven process.

“Many times during the conversations, we may uncover that they are more well-suited for starting their own independent business,” explains Durant. “Or maybe they just need to stay in the corporate world. So together we explore, really uncover, what they’re looking to achieve in their life, and I just guide them down the right path.”

By Nancy Nissen, Esq.

With back-to-school now underway, New York state Gov. Kathy Hochul’s smartphone ban, included in her “distraction-free school” policy approved as part of the New York State Fiscal Year 2026 state budget, took effect this fall for the 2025-2026 school year. Gov. Hochul’s goal builds on earlier actions targeting social media, like the SAFE for Kids Act, which limits addictive feeds, and the Child Data Protection Act, which restricts companies from collecting minors’ data. The phone ban continues this agenda, helping to protect and care for students’ mental health and promoting student success in the digital age.

Hochul’s “bell-to-bell” smartphone ban requires that districts ban all personal internet-enabled devices including smartphones, tablets and smartwatches on school grounds for the entire school day. This requires all devices to be switched off and stored throughout the day. Districts must submit plans on how they will manage devices.

There are exceptions for the use of devices to manage a medical condition, language translation, specific educational purposes, and the use of devices as part of a child’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 plan. The plan, passed by both the New York state Senate and Assembly, and was signed into law by Hochul as part of the 2026 state budget, applies to public school districts, charter schools, and BOCES schools. Private schools and higher education institutions are not covered by the law.

What’s Included the Smartphone Ban

The smartphone ban prohibits unsanctioned use of smartphones and other internet-enabled personal devices on school grounds in K-12 schools for the entire school day. Districts have been allowed to create their own plans for storing smartphones and other devices, with all schools and BOCES programs required to submit their policies by Aug. 1.

The governor’s plan includes $13.5 million in funding for schools who need to purchase storage solutions, and also requires that schools provide parents a way to contact their children during the day when necessary. However, it is currently unclear how districts will ensure that is possible.