After fainting in public, Miami-Dade School Board member says he is ready to go back to work

Miami-Dade County School Board member Steve Gallon III fainted on Tuesday after delivering a speech during a swearing-in ceremony. Hours later, he said he was ready to get back to work.

Gallon collapsed near Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and other attendees. Miami Fire Rescue personnel rushed to his aid and took him out of the auditorium as he laid unconscious.

ā€œWe want to let everybody know that we’re praying for Doctor Gallon," said Karla Hernandez-Mats, the president of United Teachers of Dade. ā€œWe need him now more than ever because a lot of important decisions are being made at our school board that impact our entire community."

Gallon, who was born and raised in Miami’s Liberty City, is the elected District 1 school board member for the Miami-Dade County Schools and the vice-chair. He has taught at the elementary, middle, and senior high school levels.

By the time he made it to Jackson Memorial Hospital, Gallon was conscious again.

ā€œHe is at the hospital but he is alert, conscious, doing well and he wants to be here, so that is all very, very good news," Carvalho said.

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About the Authors:

In January 2017, Hatzel Vela became the first local television journalist in the country to move to Cuba and cover the island from the inside. During his time living and working in Cuba, heĀ covered some of the most significant stories in a post-Fidel Castro Cuba.Ā 

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.