About Blue Oak Moving

Mark Zielinski started Blue Oak Moving in 2011 with one borrowed truck and a lot of stubbornness. He grew up off Ryan Road in Sterling Heights, one of four kids in a Polish-American family that spent most weekends at his grandfather’s property out in Washington Township. There was an old oak tree on that land with a bluish cast to its bark, and it became the spot where the whole family gathered — which is where the name comes from.

Before he ever ran a moving company, Mark spent nine years on the floor of an auto-parts distribution warehouse off Mound Road, then picked up part-time shifts driving for a regional van line’s local crew. When the 2009 downturn cost him a third of his warehouse hours, he didn’t wait around. He put his last unemployment check toward a down payment, took out a co-signed loan for a 16-foot box truck, and started Blue Oak with one crew member and a handshake referral deal with two local realtors.

Fifteen years later, that single truck has grown into a company of fourteen people, including eight movers running local and long-distance jobs across Macomb County and beyond. Mark still writes estimates himself on the bigger local jobs, and he rides along on every new long-distance route before it becomes routine for the crew.

Diane Bauer has run the office since 2015. If you call about scheduling, she’s usually the first voice you’ll hear — she keeps the calendar straight for both the Sterling Heights and Warren crews and has a good memory for which streets need a smaller truck.

Sam Haddad joined as lead estimator in 2018 and handles most of the in-home and video walkthroughs. He grew up in Sterling Heights’ Chaldean community and speaks both English and Chaldean Neo-Aramaic, which comes in handy quoting multi-generational households where grandparents, parents, and kids are all moving under one roof.

Angela Marchetti has managed billing and insurance since 2020. She processes certificates of insurance for condo and apartment buildings all over Macomb County — often the least exciting part of a move, but the part that keeps a building manager from holding up an elevator reservation — and handles claims paperwork if something ever needs to be filed.

Sean Malloy has run the local Sterling Heights and Warren crew since 2017. He’s the one who plans load-outs for the split-level and ranch layouts that make up so much of Macomb County’s housing stock, working out stair angles and doorway widths before the truck ever backs into the driveway.

Marcus Webb leads the long-distance crew, which he’s done since 2021 after ten years driving CDL for a regional freight carrier. He’s the one behind the wheel — or riding shotgun — on Chicago, Columbus, and Pittsburgh runs, keeping the same crew with your things from Sterling Heights to the delivery address.

All six of them, plus the rest of the crew, are background-checked employees — not subcontractors — which is part of why so many of our moving jobs come from repeat customers and referrals rather than one-time searches.