The family behind the name
The company traces to John Bender Jr., whose rule still runs the front desk: when you're on the phone, the customer should be able to see your smile through it. Wade Bender carried the business forward; Sharon Bender was the original CEO of Bender Graphics and is now senior pastor of Pollocksville Baptist Church, which tells you most of what you need to know about how this company treats people. Today the sign shop, Bender Apparel's screen printing and embroidery, and the Bender Branding design side work as one family of companies: your storefront sign, your fleet graphics, and your crew's shirts can all match, from one set of hands.
The shop moved from New Bern to Pollocksville, fifteen minutes down US-17, trading a city address for a building big enough to fabricate in. The install trucks didn't notice the difference; they cover New Bern, Jacksonville, Greenville, Morehead City, and everything between, daily.
What we believe about signs
A sign is a purchase a business makes maybe twice in a generation, and most people buying one have never bought one before. So we put the drawings, the permits, and the honest trade-offs on the table, this website included. If the cheaper sign is the right sign, that's the one we'll recommend.
And around here, community isn't a marketing word. Customers know us from church fundraisers, school booster signs, the volunteer fire department's board down the road, and the March for the 22 veterans walk we've supported for years. One of our Google reviews mentions it before it mentions the signs.