Michelle Speas Uses Life Insurance Beneficiary Designation to Support Future Services

Michelle Speas admires how well Family Services has evolved over its 120-year history to meet Forsyth County’s most critical needs. That’s why she has included the agency in her estate plan, naming it as the beneficiary of one of her life insurance policies.

When Michelle’s great-grandmother, Katherine Broughton Fletcher, was a founding board member of Family Services in 1905, the agency focused on challenges such as tuberculosis and food scarcity. Today it’s focused on counseling, domestic violence, and child development. That ability to adapt to meet the community’s most pressing needs impresses Michelle and inspired her gift.

“That appealed to me—the agency isn’t static, that it evolves with community need,” Michelle says.

As chief operating officer of Family Services, Inc. and executive director of the Foundation, Michelle is always honored to hear from people for whom Family Services has been a lifeline.

“It doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m doing,” Michelle says, “when people find out where I work, their eyes get big, and they tell me their story. They’ll often say, ‘Family Services saved my life.’ ”

Through her gift, Michelle is laying the foundation to serve the agency well into the future, and she hopes her example will inspire others.

“If I’m going to ask people to make these kinds of investments in our future, I should consider taking that same step as well,” she says. “For me, Family Services checks all the boxes for our community. Making this gift was an easy decision.”