YELLOW FREIGHT SYSTEM NAMES WELCH PRESIDENT

YELLOW FREIGHT SYSTEM NAMES WELCH PRESIDENT    James Welch has been named president and chief operating officer of Yellow Freight System, the largest subsidiary of Yellow Corp. Welch assumes the positions vacated by Bill Zollars, who was named chairman, president and chief executive officer of Yellow Corp. in November 1999.
   In addition, Mike Smid has been promoted to executive vice president and chief administrative officer. Both appointments are effective June 1.
   Welch, 45, joined Yellow in 1978 and advanced through the ranks. He was named vice president-operations support in 1997 and was promoted to his current position, vice president-central group, in January 1998.
   Smid, 45, has been senior vice president-operations for Yellow Freight Systems since January 1998. He joined the company in 1977 but left for a position with McLean Trucking in 1978. He returned to Yellow in 1985 and was named vice president-central group, in 1997.