Arthur H. Sorey, III, has an important job as the deputy city manager of the city of North Miami, seeing to it that the city reaches new heights.
It’s a job he cherishes because North Miami is not only the city that employs him, but it is his childhood home.
Sorey grew up on 128th Street and NW 10th Avenue, in North Miami, with both parents and two younger siblings, one sister and one brother.
“I remember going to summer camp and swimming lessons every year, and I was in the little league baseball team at Pepper Park,” said Sorey.
Sorey was at Claude Pepper Park on 135th street just about every day, with his siblings, during swimming lessons and for his games during baseball season.
At the age of 14, he gained a job as a park attendant—making sure fields were clean, opening the park on time, and ensuring safety.
“I worked between Pepper and Benjamin Franklin parks,” said Sorey. “It didn’t feel like work, even when I started working full time at other places, I still worked at the park. It was North Miami and it was home.”
Sorey attended Benjamin Franklin Elementary, North Miami Middle, and North Miami High schools. When it was time for him to attend college, he chose Florida International University.
Though he still worked at the park while attending college, he knew that he wanted to give back to his community the way his father, Arthur Duke Sorey, did as North Miami’s first African American council member, serving from 1995 to 1999.
This inspired Sorey to study public administration.
“I interned at various places, including the city of Aventura, Hallandale, and Davie, but it was always my dream to work in North Miami as the city manager, it’s my dream job,” said Sorey.
Sorey graduated from Florida International University with his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
Thirteen years ago, he began working as a budget analyst for the city of North Miami.
“I just worked my way up from there, really,” said Sorey. “It has always been a career goal of mine to work for North Miami, it’s my home and, you know, you want to stay close to home.”
Altogether, Sorey has been working for the city roughly 26 years. Despite offers from other cities, and his experiences out of state, his loyalty to North Miami stayed true.
He even bought a home around the corner from his parents’ 37-year-old home, right down the block.
“North Miami has a small town feel, that’s what I like about it so much,” said Sorey. “You can get on the turnpike or I-95 and be anywhere in 15 minutes.”
As a resident, Sorey is in a city he loves with the people that mean most to him, but as deputy city manager, he’s working hard to bring more opportunities to the city and its residents.
“I just want it to grow—bring different businesses and more opportunities for people to work,” Sorey said.
“I came back to North Miami as a budget analyst 13 years ago, and I just worked my way up. But it was always my career goal, since college, to be the city manager of North Miami one day. That was my dream job.” –Arthur H. Sorey, III, Deputy City Manager of North Miami
