Representative Larry Potts was born on September 14, 1948, in Davidson County. He and his wife, Carolyn, reside in the Reeds community. They are members of First Baptist Church of Welcome. They have three children, Andrew, Matthew and Charity, and one grand­daughter. Representative Potts enjoys horseback riding and mission work. He attended Davidson County Community College and Spokane Community College and served in the United States Air Force for four years.

He is the president and owner of Southland Construction Company in Reeds and is president of Davidson Investment Group. Representative Potts is a member of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans, the Vietnam Security Police Association, Gideons International, and the Davidson County Home Builders Association.

Representative Potts is a member of the Davidson County Economic Development Commission and served on the Executive Board of Directors for Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center­ Lexington Medical Center. He previously served on the Business Development Board of New Bridge Bank, as Vice-President of the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation and as a member of the Davidson County Board of Adjustment. Representative Potts also served on the Davidson County Board of Social Services for 19 consecutive years. In May, 2013, he was appointed by Governor Pat McCrory to serve a four year term as Chairman of the North Carolina Board of Social Services.

As a commissioner, Representative Potts served five non-consecutive terms as a commissioner. He served as Chairman of the Board of Commissioners for nine non-consecutive terms, and for five non-consecutive terms as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Commissioners. His term expired in December 2016 when he was elected as North Carolina House Representative for District 81.