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By Jeanna Baxter White

Word Master Media Group for

Davie Economic Development

The N.C. Rural Infrastructure Authority has awarded the Town of Mocksville a $175,000  Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to support a sewer line extension to a site where Special Event Services (SES) is expanding operations.

SES, headquartered in Winston-Salem, provides audio, lighting, design, staging, and live event productions for businesses, religious organizations, and major recording artists. The company expects to create 14 jobs and invest $8,850,000 in this expansion project.

Founded in 1986 by Jim Brammer and Jeff Cranfill in Brammer’s Winston-Salem garage, SES clients include Ed Sheeran, Zac Brown Band, Hootie and the Blowfish, Franklin Graham, Joyce Meyer Ministries, and others.

The company broke ground in January on a 15-acre site at 216 Angell Knoll Ave., off Yadkinville Road, that will make room for growth, provide greater efficiency, and free up space for one of its affiliated companies. The 52,000-square-foot pre-engineered metal building will include conference rooms, offices, and warehouse space. The company plans to move in this November.

Future plans include the addition of a rehearsal facility that will allow artists and productions to practice in a space set up to simulate the venue where they will be performing.

“This grant not only helps SES but opens up 70-plus acres of additional industrial and commercial property off Angell Knoll Drive,” said Terry Bralley, president of the Davie County Economic Development Commission.

“This is an exciting opportunity for the Town of Mocksville and we are pleased to partner with the State of North Carolina, Davie EDC, and especially SES, to facilitate infrastructure expansion in our community,” said Matt Settlemyer, Mocksville town manager. “Innovative industries like SES are vital to the growth and stability of Mocksville and Davie County.”

Mocksville’s grant was one of three announced on Thursday. “Rural Infrastructure Authority grants help our cities, towns, and counties address critical infrastructure needs so they can attract new, good-paying jobs,” Governor Cooper said. “When we invest in rural communities, we are demonstrating that North Carolina is open for business with the tools and workforce to help companies compete on a global scale.”

Special Event Services and its 11 affiliated companies employ around 300 people worldwide and have offices in Winston-Salem, Nashville, New York, San Diego, and Boston. The company plans to expand to Las Vegas. Learn more at www.specialeventservices.com.

The Community Development Block Grant program is a US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program administered in part by the NC Department of Commerce. CDBG’s economic development funds provide grants to local governments for creating and retaining jobs. Project funding is based on the number of jobs to be created and the level of economic distress of applicant communities.

The Rural Infrastructure Authority was established as part of the Rural Economic Development Division at the NC Department of Commerce to assist with the review and approval of grants for rural areas in the state. The grants-making programs of the division include assistance for building reuse and restoration, water and sewer infrastructure, and economic innovation in rural communities.