Group: Members of The Chenango Blues Association: Pat Dietrich, Rachel Flanagan, Steve Palmatier, Eric Larsen, Andrew Oliver Summer. (Submitted Photo)

By Sophia Root,

Commerce Chenango

NORWICH – This week, Commerce Chenango would like to highlight Laral Management, the 2024 recipient of the Commerce Chenango Commitment to Community award.

Laral Management is a real estate management and development company headquartered in Norwich.

The company began in the middle of the 1960’s when Ralph Larsen began purchasing homes as rentals in Oneonta, NY. With this, he became one of the first in the area to start developing garden style apartment complexes.

Between 1967 and 1975, Ralph and his business partners built ten of these complexes throughout Central and Southern Tier New York. For many years, these complexes were managed by Ralph’s sons: Eric and Mark Larsen.

Over the last fifty years, the firm has developed: garden apartment complexes, student townhouses and for-sale townhouses.  They have managed multi-family apartments, condominiums, office buildings, subsidized housing and mobile home parks. Laral Management has 25 employees in various regions of Upstate New York. Presently, Laral Management is managed by Eric Larsen and his daughter Rachel Flanagan.

Flanagan and Larsen are involved in more than their business, as they both serve the Chenango Blues Association, an organization whose mission is to foster an appreciation of uniquely American music forms including blues, jazz, zydeco and gospel. The organization’s mission statement is: “We strive to accomplish this by presenting the highest caliber of artists in diverse settings for the lowest possible cost. This strategy is designed to make the music accessible to as many people as possible.” This is achieved every year through the free NBT Summer Concert Series, leading up to the annual Preferred Mutual Chenango Blues Festival.

Eric and Rachel both enjoy being a part of building a better community. Flanagan states: “We have had the opportunity to work with so many other people who are committed to moving things toward a progressively brighter future, and we are grateful for the support we have always received from local foundations, local companies and local nonprofits. It is a pleasure to work with so many people who share our passion for building a better community.”

To learn more about Laral Management, visit their website: https://www.laralmgmt.com. To learn more about the Summer Concert Series and Chenango Blues Fest, including this year’s lineup, info and tickets, visit https://www.chenangobluesfest.org.