ALL FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS APPLY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

1. Eligibility: Subject to the additional restrictions below, the 2013 Kid of the Year Contest is open to residents of the State of Mississippi.

2. Mail or In Person Entry: Complete an entry form found in editions of The Meridian Star and available at The Meridian Star office located at 814 22nd Ave., Meridian, MS 39301. The entry form with the photo and entry fee can be mailed to The Meridian Star, "Kid of the Year Contest", P.O. Box 1591, Meridian, MS 39302. Entries can be dropped off at The Meridian Star office 814 22nd Ave., Meridian, MS. In person entries must be received by Noon. November 13th. Mailed entries must be received no later than November 13th.

3. The Meridian Star reserves the right to verify proof of age. Multiple births (twins, triplets, etc.) can be entered as one “baby photo” entry if all the children are in one photo. Parent/guardian information may be verified by phone. Photos will not be posted until $10 entry fee is received. Entry form photocopies are permitted. The Meridian Star will not be responsible for incomplete, lost, late, postage due, misdirected or illegible entries, or for failure to receive entries due to transmission failures or technical failures of any kind, including, without limitation, malfunctioning of any network, hardware or software, whether originating with sender or The Meridian Star.

Photos will be available online during the entry and voting period of November 14th through November 16th as they are received and verified. 2013 Kid of the Year Contest Entrants and Ballot will be available online at www.meridianstar.com.

4. Voting Procedures and Rules: The voting period will begin at 8:00a.m. (C.D.T.) Nov. 16, 2012, and conclude at 5:00 p.m. (C.D.T) Nov. 16, 2012. Votes may be made in person, or submitted online. Votes must be received by Nov. 16, 2012. In person votes must be received by 3:00 p.m. (C.D.T.) Nov, 2012 and online voting will end at 5:00 p.m. on Nov. 16, 2012. Voting totals will be posted online daily as they are verified.

Voting is open to the general public. Online voting is limited to persons 18 years of age or older. Vote for your favorite by submitting a voting ballot along with a 25¢ per vote fee to The Meridian Star (minimum dollar amount of $5.00 for online voting). Each 25¢ donation will count as one vote. There is no limit on donation amounts. Your computer must accept cookies, or any successor or similar technology, which may be used for the purpose of entry tracking. Ad blocking software on your computer needs to be disabled so that it doesn’t interfere with processing your entry.

The Meridian Star will not be responsible for incomplete, lost, late, postage-due, misdirected or illegible entries (either photos or ballots) or for failure to receive entries due to transmission failures or technical failures of any kind, including, without limitation, malfunctioning of any network, hardware or software, whether originating with sender or The Meridian Star. In the event of a dispute, all online entries will be deemed to have been submitted by the owner of the ISP account from which they were sent. For these purposes, an ISP account holder shall mean the natural person assigned to such ISP account by the Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning ISP addresses for the domain associated with such ISP account. All entries become property of The Meridian Star and none will be returned.

Any questions regarding the number of entries submitted or the owner of an ISP account shall be determined by The Meridian Star in its sole discretion, and The Meridian Star reserves the right to disqualify any entries by persons determined to be tampering with or abusing any aspect of the contest.

5. Winner Determination: Winners will be determined by total number of votes received. In the event of a tie, The Meridian Star will randomly pick the winner from the tied entries. Winners will be selected on or about Nov. 17, 2012.

6. Prizes: First 12 winners will be featured as monthly winners of the calendar. Photos will be taken by Wayne Rawson Photography. A free 5x7 and session is included. All babies will be included as a picture on a date of the calendar closest to their Birthdate.

7. On-Line votes may be submitted using a valid credit card including, MasterCard, Visa, and Discover. (min. $5.00 online charge). Only valid, authorized credit card transactions will be considered as a legitimate vote.
All authorized credit card transactions are non-cancellable and non-refundable. If your credit card is declined for any reason, no vote will be submitted on your behalf.

8. General Refund/Cancellation Policy:  Entries: Fees for approved and verified photo entries are non-cancellable and non-refundable.
Voting: All Voting fees are non-cancellable and non-refundable.

9. Participation: By participating, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of The Meridian Star. The Meridian Star reserves the right to disqualify persons found tampering with or otherwise abusing any aspect of this contest as solely determined by The Meridian Star.

All on-line payments will go through our Administrator "Advanced Pre Press Technology Inc., Burbank, CA.  Any charges incurred will show up as "Online Contest–APT" on your statement.

The 2013 Kid of the Year Contest is sponsored by The Meridian Star. The decisions of The Meridian Star regarding the selection of winners and all other aspects of the contest shall be final and binding in all respects. The Meridian Star will not be responsible for typographical, printing or other inadvertent errors in these Official Rules or in other materials relating to the contest. Please contact The Meridian Star at 601-693-1551.