President's Bio

Brooke Anne-Scott DeGraaf

Compass II, Inc.
President

The youngest of five, I was born and raised in West Michigan. My Dad, Jim Scott, was the golf professional at Greenridge Country Club in Grand Rapids for most of my childhood. He died just after I entered Grand Valley State Colleges and my Mom, Sharon Scott, returned to college to earn her Bachelors and Masters Degrees. She is now retired after working as a Department of Defense Civil Servant at the Naval School of Health Sciences in San Diego, CA.

While attending Grand Valley State Colleges in the early eighties, I worked three jobs to make ends meet and realized, due to my financial situation, it was necessary to put my education on hold and find a “real job”. I went to a job placement company and was hired in at Elston Richards Storage Company in February of 1984.

Elston’s was, at that time, the local warehouse for several brand name appliance companies, including Frigidaire and Gibson. I was hired as a shipping clerk in the “bullpen.” My responsibilities consisted of working with the high-low drivers to assure the orders were pulled to the satisfaction of the customers. I also was the person that would call to coordinate the pickups with a variety of transportation companies, regardless of mode. I began meeting and making new friends, some of which I still stay in touch with today!

Compass Consolidators, owned by E. John and Rosemary Buteau, and based in the Chicago area, was one of the Shippers Agents that serviced Elston’s. Bob Scanlon, the Vice President of Operations, was my primary contact for scheduling loads with them. Through his willingness to answer any and all of the questions I asked about “piggyback” transportation during my first year with Elston’s, I learned a great deal about the day to day operations.

In the spring of 1985, John and Bob were told Frigidaire was being sold to Electrolux and Compass Consolidators would become the sole Shippers Agent servicing Elston Richards in the Grand Rapids area. As a result they asked if I would be willing to leave Elston Richards to open a Compass Consolidators office in Grand Rapids to service this large account. By early November, things fell into place and I opened the office. Very soon after, the man who had promised the Frigidaire account to Compass Consolidators was fired and his replacement was fond of a different Shippers Agent. That changed our focus immediately and the big question now was, “What would I be doing, now that I am on staff and there is no work?!”

After a lot of support and patience from Bob and the other Compass Consolidators staff, I began to sell piggyback in the West Michigan area. Because this was a very new type of transportation in the mid eighties complicated by my being a very young female working alone for an unfamiliar company, I quickly realized that perseverance was the key! I credit my ability to not give up to my Father who always told all five of us, “Can’t never could do anything, TRY!” Maybe, the survivor skill came automatically as the youngest of my family, all of us being strong-willed children. I am not sure, but it certainly did not hurt!

After working solo for five years at Compass Consolidators, in 1992, I moved on to Consolidation Services, Inc., a competitor. The attraction was the varied facets of their company and the opportunity to learn more. After two years, by late 1994 I knew that I was no longer happy and I would need to be making a change soon. John and Bob at Compass Consolidators became aware that I was looking for a new job. The three of us, along with our spouses, decided to open a new company together.

Deep down inside I was scared to death, knowing that I would be competing with many well established, much larger Intermodal Marketing Companies in my territory. Once I accepted the worst thing that could happen would be that I would need to close the office and, as a result, take the blow to my pride. If I was being rigorously honest, I didn’t relish the idea of living with the embarrassment. Nor did I want to be a woman who’d failed in a male dominated industry. So I decided that I did not want to always wonder “what it may have been like to have tried”, so I became determined to give it all I had to see what happened!

On March 2, 1995, I opened Compass II, Inc., now more commonly known as CII. I made two promises to myself when I opened the company. First, my integrity is not for sale. Second, if it does not appear to be working, (and by having control of the checkbook, I would be the first to know), I would tell everyone involved soon enough for each of them to establish their Plan B. I can proudly say that I have not broken either of these promises to myself! I credit my ethical integrity to my parents! My Mom has often said she was not concerned with the career path her children chose, but instead was very hopeful that they would simply become “good, decent people” when they grew up. Observing my siblings and the way they lead their lives and knowing how important it is to me to continue to do my best, I can say; I think her wish has been granted!

When I started along this path many years ago I quickly became aware “I had to work twice as hard to be taken half as seriously,” due to the line of work I had chosen, so I decided to do just that! I wouldn’t waste energy on things that I could not change –

In the summer of 2005, a customer, who had been with us for more than five years, asked that I apply for my WBE certification. To do so would assist them in obtaining a bid on projects. As their carrier, having the WBE certification would be a plus for them in bidding at the State level.

The application process was a very long, drawn out process. Sadly, Bob, my friend, mentor for so many years, and partner in CII, died in 2002. This, of course, created additional paperwork and further delayed our application, which was finally accepted in March of 2006, at which time Compass II, Inc. was granted certification. After working so closely on the intense process of completing the necessary paperwork, the certifying committee asked if I would serve on the committee. Which I presently do! In dealing with CII’s application for certification, I was impressed with the integrity shown by the committee and came to realize that’s why the WBE certification has the well earned reputation of credibility that it does…they are very thoughtful in determining to whom they will grant certification.

Through the years I have been very fortunate to have consistently had a great group of people working alongside me at CII! Each has brought her or his own special gifts and all have been equally valuable. Through the unique combination of each employee’s talents, personalities and hard work, CII has built the highly respected company that it is today!

As I reflect back to 1984, and the many years since, I feel blessed to have had ongoing opportunities to meet and work with so many incredible people and to have received such a multifaceted education from all! I have learned to appreciate that the combination of all these relationships and experiences have been integral in molding me into the person I am today…and to think, I was going to college to become a Psychiatrist!

My husband, Steve, has been an ongoing pillar of strength for me and a continuous ‘cheerleader’ throughout all of the years of my career. Although he is a partner of CII, I think he sometimes is grateful that he does not work in this industry because of some of the crazy things that can happen in a given day! Our daughter, MaKenna Grace, was born in 1999. She becomes increasingly more insightful about ‘what her Mommy does and is trying to accomplish’ on a daily basis. She has also learned to be tolerant and very understanding of the demands that “the job” makes on our family time. My immediate and extended families have always offered their ongoing support! As far as my personal friends go, some totally understand what I do and others continue to be confused of what I do for a living, (not your typical company for a middle aged woman), but in either case, they are also very supportive!

Throughout the years, it has been necessary to meet and adjust to the changes and challenges within the industry. I remind myself to just not give up and do my best as I’m confronted with new situations day in and day out. When I was in my early teens I began to rely on a couple of mottos which has remained favorites over the years. “Learn from your mistakes” and “The challenge ahead of you is never as great as the power behind you.” They see me through…every time!