A native of St. John, Kansas, Larry Welch is the second KBI director from Stafford County and the third director with an FBI background. The tenth director of the KBI received a bachelor's degree and a law degree from the University of Kansas prior to appointment in 1961 as a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. KBI Director Logan Sanford, a mentor, was a reference in Larry Welch's FBI application. FBI assignments followed at Knoxville, Tennessee; Washington, D.C.; Miami, Florida; West Palm Beach, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; San Antonio, Texas; McAllen, Texas; Kansas City and Wichita. At Wichita he supervised FBI operations in Kansas. Upon retirement from the FBI in 1986, Welch became associate director at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center. Promoted to director of that facility in 1989, he resigned in July, 1994, to accept appointment by Attorney General Robert Stephan as director of the KBI. He was reappointed KBI director by Attorney General Carla Stovall in 1995 and by Attorney General Phill Kline in 2003. Director Welch retired from the KBI in May, 2007.