Thomas K. Welch photograph collection

Collection

Identifier: P0993

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Thomas K. Welch photograph collection contains photographic prints from photo albums, collector series postcards for the 2002 Winter Olympics, and oversize prints. The bulk of the material dates from 1990-1995; the inclusive dates of the collection are circa 1947-2002. The majority of the photographs depict the Salt Lake Olympic Committee at Olympic bid events, primarily International Olympic Committee Sessions and visits to Utah in the 1990s. Box 1 folders 1 and 2 contain photographs removed from photograph albums for preservation purposes; the order of the images in the album was retained. Foldres 3-4 contain photographs that were loose in the respective albums and do not contribtue to the original order. Box 2 is oversize and contains five oversized photographic prints, including signed gifts from Norman Howard Bangerter and the 1995 United States Biathlon Team.

Dates

1947-2002
Majority of material found within 1990-1995

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Conditions Governing Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Biographical / Historical

Thomas Kenyon Welch was born on 1944 September 4 in Ogden, Utah to Harold and Florence Welch. He attended Weber State University, where he was student body president and graduated cum laude. Welch married Alma Fowler in 1971, while he was a senior at George Washington University. The couple divorced in 1997. After graduating from George Washington University with a Juris Doctor, Welch moved back to Utah, where he worked as an attorney and senior vice president of Smith’s Management Corporation, and headed the Alumni Association at Weber State. By 1986, Welch was also chairman of the Salt Lake City United Way Campaign, and was elected as a member of the Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.

Alongside David Johnson, Thomas Welch assumed the role of chairman, and later president, of the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee (SLOOC), an organization dedicated to bringing the Winter Olympicsw to Salt Lake City. From 1986 through 1995, Welch and Johnson worked on supporting Salt Lake City's bid in Europe, Latin America, and Africa, meeting with International Olympic Committee members and other international sport organizations. While their initial bid for the 1998 Winter Olympics lost to Nagano, Japan, they successfully won the bid for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games during the 104th International Olympic Committee Session in June of 1995.

In 1998, ten members of the International Olympic Committee were accused of accepting money, gifts, tuition payments, and reimbursements for shopping sprees from the Salt Lake Olympic Committee. The Department of Justice filed charges against Welch and Johnson: fifteen charges of bribery and fraud in total. Both men were eventually acquitted of all criminal charges in December 2003 on a lack of criminal intent and insufficient evidence. The scandal led the International Olympic Committee to expel ten members and sanction ten others. On-site visits to Olympic venues by International Olympic Committee members and any gifts above nominal value were also banned as of 1999 in the immediate aftermath.

In 2016, over a decade after Welch’s resignation and later acquittal, he received the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his work to bring the Olympics to Utah. Welch remained in Utah and works as the CEO of Maverik, Inc.

Extent

2.2 Linear Feet (1 archives box, 1 oversize box) : 388 items

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Thomas K. Welch was chairman and president of the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee, an organization dedicated to bringing hte Winter Olympics from Salt Lake City, Utah. The Thomas K. Welch photograph collection contains photographic prints depicting the Salt Lake Olympic Committee at Olympic bid events, primarily the 96th International Olympic Committee Session in Tokyo, Japan; the 97th Session in Birmingham, England; and International Olympic Committee visits to Utah. The bulk of the material dates from 1990-1995.

Arrangement

Arranged by subject.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Thomas K. Welch in November and December of 2004.

Related Materials

Forms part of the Ski and Snow Sports Archives (S.J. Quinney Outdoor Recreation Archives).

See also the Salt Lake Olympic Bid Committee records (ACCN 1267) in the Manuscripts Division and the Utah Olympic Committee photograph collection (P0775) and the Larry Warren photograph collection (P0915) in the Multimedia Division of Special Collections.