• Born April 22, 1963.
• 1981 – Graduated from Barnwell High School
• 1985 – Graduated from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy
• 1987 – Attended Criminal Patrol School in Baton rouge, Louisiana.
• 1985 – Assigned to the Clarendon County area as a trooper with the S.C. Highway Patrol.
• 1988 – SLED narcotics training.
• 1989-91 – Serves as an officer with the state Department of Natural Resources
• 1991 – Promoted to private 1st class.
• 1992 – District 6 Officer of the Year Award
• 1993 - Promoted to corporal.
• 1995 – Clarendon County Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award.
• September 1998 – Named one of three Law Enforcement Officers of the Year by the Clarendon County Law Enforcement Association for saving a teen girl from drowning April 3, 1998, in the Wyboo Creek area of Clarendon County.
• 1999 – Promoted to sergeant.
• 2000 – Southern States Boating Officer of the Year Award
• 2001 – Clarendon County Drug and Alcohol Enforcement Award
• 2005 – Hurricane Katrina Service Award
• 2007 – Helen Richburg Memorial Service Award
• 2009 - Reached the rank of lieutenant, and his command includes five sergeants and 43 officers in Region 3, which includes Clarendon, Sumter, Richland, Lexington, Newberry, Saluda, Barnwell, Bamberg, Allendale, Aiken, Orangeburg and Calhoun counties.
• Fall 2012 – Promoted to captain with the state Department of Natural Resources, and assigned to manage staff operations. Duties included overseeing emergency management division, homeland security, telecommunications center, aviation section and law enforcement procurement.
• Fall 2015 – Married Helen Powell-Welsh. The couple has five children between them, including Blake, a DNR officer; Brandon, a Clarendon County fireman; and Brynne, who is in the 11th grade at Clarendon Hall; Cam Welsh, a state trooper, and Sloane Welsh, who is attending college.
• January 2016 – Retired as captain of staff operations – managing about 50 staff – from the state Department of Natural Resources after 32 years overall in law enforcement.
• June 14, 2016 – Won the Democratic Primary for the Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office with 63.26 percent of the vote (4,524 votes) to incumbent Randy Garrett’s 36.74 percent of the vote (2,627 votes).
• January 2017 – Baxley will be sworn-in to his first four-year term as Clarendon County Sheriff.
