Shannon Gleason Dion is a founding Board Director of the non-profit Secure Our Seniors’ Safety (SOSS). The organization was formed in 2019 in response to the lack of security in senior living establishments. This permitted Billy Chemirmir, one of Texas' most prolific serial killers, to smother to death over two dozen seniors in their homes and steal their valuables. Many victims were in senior independent living facilities advertising “state-of-the-art security” giving residents a false sense of security. Residents were generally not made aware of security incidents in their facilities where Chemirmir repeatedly operated. It is the mission of SOSS to pass legislation requiring common sense security measures that the industry has failed to implement on its own and make the public aware of vulnerabilities in senior living.
Shannon is the daughter of Doris Gleason, a victim of Chemirmir. Upon learning of the multiple elderly victims, Shannon and other victim family members came together and founded Secure Our Seniors’ Safety. Working with state legislators, SOSS has had success passing bills in Austin and looks forward to continuing to make a difference in senior living.
Shannon is a Dallas native, raised in Stamford, Connecticut. She returned to Dallas to attend SMU where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business marketing. Work as a case worker for the Texas Third Congressional District and in Denton ISD administration prepared Shannon for the work she is doing now. Shannon resides in Carrollton, Texas with her husband, Eric, in the town home her parents purchased in 1978. She, along with the other SOSS members, is passionate about senior security.
1 topic · no fee, no honorarium, no mileage
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"How a Serial Killer Just Walked In” tells the story of Billy Chemirmir, a convicted murderer, indicted for 22 homicides in the DFW area. In 2016 - 2018 the murderer stalked, smothered and stole jewelry from elderly women in their homes. The majority of the homicides occurred in independent living establishments which advertised state of the art security.
Shannon will share her experience and knowledge including how the victims were targeted, agencies’ responses, criminal trials, pending legislation and what to look for when evaluating senior living communities.
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