Village of Rockton welcomes new administrator

The new Rockton Village Administrator, Happy Welch, brings a wealth of experience into Rockton.

Happy Welch started his career as a building inspector, moving his way up to building official.

“I wanted to have more responsibility and provide more direction to the city I was working for so the next step was city administrator,” Welch said.

Welch began at that position in 2006 and has continued to provide guidance, information, and a servant/leadership style of management in the five municipalities that he has served.

Welch's educational background includes a bachelor's degree in communications and public relations from Wichita State University.

Over the years he has received certifications in planning and zoning, building construction, and management training.

Welch reflects, “Much of it has been having good mentors and colleagues to bounce issues and concepts off of that has been the most significant influence on my abilities."

"I have overseen construction of a new city hall, retro-fitting of a water plant, multiple street and sidewalk improvement projects, and park improvements for kids and adults.”

Welch has worked in all facets of municipal services from water/sewer, streets, parks, emergency services, solid waste collection, tourism, planning and zoning, electric provider, finance, and administration.

“That has afforded me a wealth of practical experience,” Welch said. "By working closely with department heads, I can offer input when needed and help focus on the important issues and problems and plan for the future."

Welch adds, “This Village has an amazing downtown, a vibrant highway commercial district, a wide range of housing types and styles, and a well-regarded school system. That is a recipe for Rockton to become a destination for new homeowners, growing families, visitors, and community investment. I see future growth.”

“What the Village needs is focus and that is what I want to provide as the administrator to set the stage for well planned development, an outstanding quality of life, and maintain the joy I hear from residents when they say they live in Rockton.”

Welch will have financial oversight of all the departments, work closely with the Board of Trustees to plan future projects, help manage revenues and expenditures, follow the policies established by the Trustees, develop the budget with help from the department heads, and, as the first Village Administrator, set the bar for the expectations for future administrators.”

Welch started on Monday, September 8, 2025 and he is taking a hands on approach to achieving the best for the Village of Rockton.

Welch grew up in Winfield Kansas. He is married with one daughter who lives in Chicago.

Rockton Village President John Peterson said, “The board is extremely excited about Happy Welch joining our team. We all felt he was a great fit for us given his 30 years experience as a Village administrator. “

“His role is different from former Village Planning and Development Administrator Tricia Diduch as he has more of a supervisory role. I think we had 40 plus applicants apply for the job.

"We will be hiring an economic development person and a community outreach/special events coordinator person, which were both part of Tricia's job. Happy will be taking the lead on those two job openings and will be involved with who we hire.”