Post History

The American Legion Northeast Post 630, located in Blue Ash, Ohio, was chartered on September 27, 1963. The Northeast Post was the result of the merger of Deer Park Post 630 and Sycamore Post 606. The new name selected for the combined Posts, was American Legion Northeast Post. But which Post number would be retained? It was decided that the two Commanders would draw for high card and the winner would choose the number. Commander Rudy Grober of the Deer Park Post was the winner and chose Post 630. Bob Wilson of the Sycamore Post was elected as the Commander of the new Post. The meetings were held at the Rossmoyne Fire Station. The new Post decided that a site for a new meeting room would be needed. After a search, they settled on the purchase of five acres of land located on Williamson Road in Blue Ash. The cost of the property, a part of the Stalk Farm, was $14,000. This turned out to be a wise investment. With the completion of the Reed Hartman Highway, the property became prime real estate. A clubroom and meeting hall were erected in 1965. Later the Post deposed of two and a half acres of the property. The Legion maintained the building until 1995 when the membership voted to sell the building and property to Raffel’s Catering, with an agreement to rent and retain the meeting room. By the year 2000, the mortality rate of World War II veterans was about three thousand per day and the Post was averaging forty members present at Post meetings. This was considered outstanding attendance for a Post this size considering the age of its membership.

In 2008, the Post 630 Membership voted to move Post meetings to the Blue Ash Civic League Building at 9306 Towne Square Avenue in Blue Ash, Ohio. At that time, Post 630 constructed a storage shed on the Civic League grounds to be used to store supplies, documents and other Post 630 items. Post 630 was to maintain insurance on the shed and its contents. Since the shed will be given to the Blue Ash Civic League if the Post 630 ever changes its meeting location, the Blue Ash Civic League is responsible for the exterior up-keep of the shed. Since leaving the Williamson Road facilities in 2008, there was a need to have a secure storage area for Post 630 Color Guard’s rifles and ammunition. The Blue Ash Police Department was kind enough to offer secured storage space at their offices on Cooper Road to store the rifles and ammo. They have been most accommodating in making the items available when needed by Post 630 for parades, Veterans Day ceremonies and at other times.

Around 2011, Post 630 membership voted to hold one membership meeting a month rather than the two per month that were held for a number of years. The membership voted to hold monthly meetings on the first Monday of each month when possible. Elected Post Officers meetings are held the last Tuesday of each month as needed. The date was later changed to the last Thursday of each month. Post 630 has been blessed with a host of dedicated Post Commanders. The Post Commanders are as follows:
1963 – 1968 Bob Wilson 1969 – 1970 Merrill Bove 1971 Charles Gross 1972 Dick Bruce
1973 Jim Woods 1974 – 1975 Leon Thomas 1976 Ray Wilking 1977 Stan Mueller
1978 George Hardin 1979 Charles Profitt 1980 Jack Vorwerck 1981 Al Buxton
1982 Harry Stabler 1983 – 1985 Ed McCann 1986 Ray Wilking 1987 – 1993 Bud Hilbert
1994 – 1995 Bill Horstman 1996 – 1997 Luther Perry 1998 – 1999 Cliff Bishop
2000 – 2001 Jack Rosen 2002 – 2003 Mike Warmbier 2004 – 2007 Rick Bryan
2008 – 2011 Luther Perry 2011 – 2013 Dan Betzold 2013 - 2015 Joe Rettig
2015 – 2018 Paul Collett 2018 – 2022 Jim Meyers

In recent years, Post Commanders are elected in May of each year and installed in office in June. They are elected for a one-year term. As can be seen from the above, some Commanders have been elected to that position for a number of years. American Legion NE Post 630’s Vision of a Strong America is for:
• A Strong National Security
• Taking Care of Veterans
• Mentoring Youth
• Supporting our Communities
• Promoting Patriotism & Honor

By Post 630 being a part of the National American Legion, we are able to help provide political clout to encourage lawmakers to maintain a strong military and a strong GI Bill program. Post 630 helps Take Care of Veterans through our picnics, Christmas parties, Veterans’ Hospital activities, family support at funerals and helping members in time of need. Post 630 helps Mentor Youth through its Ohio Boys & Girls State sponsorship, support of youth programs along with supporting Boy & Girl Scout Troops. Post 630 Supports the Local Community by its many actions and donation of time, money and talents to our communities along with its members being good citizens. Post 630 promotes Patriotism & Honor through its activities in local events. American Legion Northeast Post 630 participates in the annual Blue Ash Memorial Day Parade, the City of Montgomery’s 4th of July Parade, Flag Day Ceremonies, City of Blue Ash Veterans Day Observance at the Veterans Memorial in Blue Ash and other Civic ceremonies when the need of a Color Guard is required. Post 630 is experiencing a renewed interest in Color Guard membership. As a result of the exposure of the Post 630 Color Guard at public ceremonies, the Post has been able to attract new Post members.

For a number of years, Post 630 experienced declining membership. Since June of 2013, Post 630 has been very active in recruiting new members. Between June of 2013 and December of 2018, Post 630 has secured one hundred - three (103) active New Members and this number will continue to grow. In June of 2013, the Post revamped its Post Meeting Program with social time at 6:30 p.m., a free hot meal at 7:00 p.m. and an informative meeting at 7:30 p.m. A Split-the-Pot program was installed at each meeting along with a $20.00 attendance prize. Having outside presenters has added to the value of membership meetings. In 2013, the annual Post Picnic and Christmas Party were revised to bring a greater focus on Veteran Patriotism & Honor along with being a fun event. The success of this change can be seen by the increase in attendance at these events. The average attendance at Post Meetings is now around fifty people and growing.

Since 2014, Post 630 has become very active in supporting Post events, such as Reds Baseball Games, Casino Trips, Wright Patterson Air Force Museum trip, Spring Grove Cemetery tours and other events. Since 2014, Post 630 has become more active in securing support from vendors in the community. Kroger has donated fried chicken for our quarterly meeting meals. City Barbeque of Blue Ash has offered rebates to Post 630 as well as offering opportunities for fundraising. Mio’s Pizza has also allowed our Post fund raising nights. Post 630 will continue to work with local vendors who help support Post 630 and the Post membership will help support the vendors. In 2016, Post 630 started a Meal Donation Bucket at each membership meeting to help with the cost of membership meeting meals. This has been a very successful program. 

Also, in 2017, a Meal Donor Program was introduced asking members and businesses for a $400.00 donation. In 2017, there were four donors for this program and in 2018 there were six donors to the program. Life is dynamic and ever changing, so this History Report will require continued updates through time. Post 630 will need to be forever changing to retain existing members and attract new members. Those contributing information to the Post 630 History Report are: Bob Nickol, Walter Reuszer, Steve Lehrer and Joe Rettig