By Laurie Montoya, President, and Founder BikerDown Foundation
I met Shannon about 6 years ago at a fundraiser she was hosting in Las Vegas for a rider that had lost his leg in an accident. There was an instant bond. She loved to help the community and admired my organization’s goal to help injured riders. We became instant friends.
She had always heard me speak about having the right insurance, having a BikerDown membership with Aflac, and nationwide roadside assistance. She attended our Accident Scene Management class and learned how to render proper first aid so that she knew how to help her friends/family/club that she rode with in the event of an accident. One of the first things she purchased was a trauma kit to put on her amazing custom bike. She has used that kit more times than she cares to admit.
First, she joined the BikerDown Roadside level for $35.00 annually and got nationwide motorcycle roadside coverage. Months later, she had an accident in Arizona, and I rushed to get to my friend in the hospital; so grateful that she would be ok, but to see someone you care about in pain in the hospital and the helplessness that friends/family feel first hand. BikerDown hosted her BDFundme and raised funds to help her get through recovery. I believe she utilized the medical equipment that Las Vegas keeps in storage.
Her next step after recovery was realizing that she needed to upgrade her BikerDown membership to the Roadside Plus for $35.00 per month that included the Aflac Accident Policy. She realized after her hospital stay that health insurance and good bike insurance weren’t enough. She wanted Aflac that would cover her and pay her cash benefits for the services rendered, and she wanted the $35k accidental death benefits in case she was ever fatality hurt. She wanted peace of mind when she rode her Bling Devas MC women’s motorcycle club and her family to have the resources to care for things in the event of her passing. She has since signed up members of her family with that policy as well.
In her position as Marketing Director for Full Throttle Law and as a new Instructor for Accident Scene Management, she has ensured that over 200 riders in 2023 have the skills to help an injured rider, and also have the Roadside membership, to ensure that riders who breakdown can get safely off the road. Her firm has given away hundreds of BikerDown/Full Throttle Law trauma kits.
She has helped BikerDown Las Vegas with her contacts and friendships to ensure that we always have donations of medical equipment to help her Vegas riding community.
Recently, she decided to take a 48-state road trip in 10 days and follow her journey on her Instagram HDDazzlin. I encouraged her to get an additional policy called Emergency Assistance Plus that would ensure that in the event of any type of medical emergency, including an accident, that:
- EAP would get a family member to her location;
- EAP would life flight her home or to a trauma hospital in the event she was hospitalized in a lower-level trauma hospital;
- EAP would fly her home to a medical facility in Las Vegas;
- EAP would get her bike home safely to Las Vegas.
This weekend, her firm Full Throttle Law will host our 4th Annual Motorcycle Awareness Day in Las Vegas, benefiting BikerDown Las Vegas to ensure that we can sustain the necessary services and resources to continue to help injured motorcycle riders.
In Summary, BikerDown has for 12 years asked riders and followers to please get the services they need to help you in the event of an accident. Freedom of the ride is no longer FREE, and we must, as motorcycle riders, take the necessary steps to protect our families and those that love us.
THANK YOU, SHANNON “DAZZLIN” VENTURO, for your commitment and devotion to your riding community. Words cannot adequately describe my admiration and gratitude for your service to the biker community. Your friendship with me, your guidance when I need it, and your love has been, at times, the one thing that has kept me going in a biker community that isn’t always kind or supportive.
I ASK ALL RIDERS WHO ARE READING THIS BIKER STORY TO PLEASE:
- Get a FREE Insurance review to make sure that in the event of an accident, you are indeed covered, not find out after the fact that your insurance doesn’t cover what you thought. 50-60% of all drivers have limited or no insurance. Read your declaration, get a real insurance agent or broker to review it. ASK for Uninsured motorist coverage.
- Get the BikerDown Membership at a starting level of $37.50 per year with roadside. A Biker can never have enough motorcycle roadside assistance. KNOW what your roadside actually covers and how far it will take you.
- Health Insurance – if your company doesn’t provide health insurance, do some research, most takes have sites that can find you health insurance at an affordable price.
- Consider getting the BikerDown Roadside Plus membership for $37.50 per month. This accident policy will help you anytime you go to an ER or aftercare and provides on-the-job coverage if you are in an accident at work. It also includes a 20k-35k Accident Death Benefit that can provide your family funds to take care of matters.
- Research the Emergency Assistance Plus coverage. For families, it can cost a mere 200.00 per year to cover your family.
