Nick Sortal was elected Plantation Mayor on November 8, 2022.
He had been elected to Plantation City Council in 2018 and 2020.
Nick has lived in Plantation since 1993, when he married his wife, Robyn, whom he met while both were working at the Sun-Sentinel newspaper.
Robyn and Nick are especially proud of their three children, Diane, Michelle and Aaron. And they are blessed with three grandchildren, who all live in Davie. Mia is 4 and Aria and Aiden are one.
Nick took a voluntary buyout from the Sun-Sentinel in November 2015 and signed a free-lance contract with The Miami Herald in December 2015 that concluded when he filed to run for office. He worked for 10 years as professional adviser for the American Heritage School’s award-winning Patriot Post newspaper. He also spent the past 30 years on school campuses as a basketball coach, at Cardinal Gibbons High, St. Thomas Aquinas and American Heritage School. He merged his journalism and basketball passions in 2001 to write the book Basketball Tip-Ins: 100 Drills and Tips for Young Players, published by McGraw-Hill.
Meanwhile, he continues his hobby of triathlon racing, competing in 8 to 10 races each year. His daily routine of swimming, biking, running and yoga has kept him in excellent shape, to the point that he has completed eight 70.3 (half-ironman) triathlons, which consist of a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run.
Nick grew up in Herrin, Ill., where his father was the basketball coach and junior high assistant principal. A gym is named in Mike Sortal’s honor. Nick graduated from Southern Illinois University with degrees in mathematics and journalism and worked in Carbondale, Ill., Owensboro, Ky., St. Louis and Indianapolis before moving to Florida and a 30-year career at the Sun-Sentinel.
Nick says he is grateful for the encouragement he has received and will always remember that the Plantation residents pay his salary.
Nick looks forward to interacting with residents as much as he can, such as at our monthly concerts, HOA meetings and houses of worship.
South Florida activities
- Creator of “Plantation Palooza,” an annual concert to raise money for necessary charities. 2022 helped Ukrainians resettling in Broward; 2021 aided Take Stock in Children; 2020 supported Feeding South Florida.
- Plantation Athletic League volunteer basketball, flag football and soccer coach, 1993-2004
- Plantation Christmas Eve volunteer Santa, visiting city neighborhoods, various years
- Volunteer, Plantation Relay for Life for the past 15 years, including 2022
- Co-host, Sports Talk cable television show on Comcast, creating and hosting a telethon in 1996 that raised more than $100,000 for Kendrick English a Stranahan High football player who was paralyzed while making a tackle
- Volunteer food delivery man for Craig’s Pantry, which provides groceries to seniors in need
- Former classroom and office volunteer at Peters Elementary and Central Park Elementary
- Member Plantation Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis, Friends of the Helen B. Hoffman Library, 5000 Role Models of Excellence, Freedoms Foundation, Take Stock in Children/Broward.
- Graduate, Broward County Water and Climate Academy, 2020. Please read the article that ran as part of “The Invading Sea” series. https://bit.ly/2BXQZ7E
- Guest speaker and presenter of “10 Topics in Plantation” to various clubs, HOAs and other organizations, 2019-20