Edison National Bank/Bank of the Islands returns as gold sponsor of the 2025 Florida Python Challenge

Edison National Bank/Bank of the Islands continues its commitment to environmental conservation as a returning gold sponsor of the 2025 Florida Python Challenge, an annual initiative that protects the Florida Everglades ecosystem from the threat of the invasive Burmese python.

Hosted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the South Florida Water Management District, the Florida Python Challenge is a 10-day competition, to be held July 11-20, that encourages the safe and humane removal of nonnative Burmese pythons from Florida’s designated public lands.

“We are proud to support this initiative and its efforts to empower the community as good stewards of the Everglades and its surrounding ecosystems,” said Geoffrey Roepstorff, CEO of Edison National Bank/Bank of the Islands, a lifelong Floridian, state-contracted python hunter and check-in station volunteer for the Florida Python Challenge. “The invasive Burmese python poses a serious threat to our native species and habitats, and we believe strongly in our shared responsibility to preserve the ecosystem we all cherish.”

This is the third consecutive year that Edison National Bank/Bank of the Islands has supported the Florida Python Challenge, reflecting the bank’s founders’ passion for conservation. As a gold sponsor, the bank is helping fund grand prizes for the competition, which includes $10,000 for the registered participant who removes the most pythons.

The python removal competition begins at 12:01 a.m. on July 11 and ends at 5 p.m. on July 20. Hunters wishing to register can learn more at FLPythonChallenge.org.