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

1. Eligibility:  The 2014 Cutest Baby Contest is open to residents of the United States born on or after January 1, 2009 (under the age of five).  Entries may be submitted by a parent or legal guardian; or a grandparent with permission from the custodial parent. The Crescent-News reserves the right to verify proof of age.  Employees of the Defiance Publishing Company and their immediate family members are not eligible to enter or win.

2. How to Enter:   The cost to enter is $18.00 per child.  The entry fee also covers publication in the 2014 Smiling Faces supplement and the Babies of 2013 Calendar (for entrants born in 2013).   Entry forms can be found in editions of The Crescent-News and are available at The Crescent-News office.  To enter, return a completed form along with a photo of the child and entry fee to The Crescent-News, 624 W. Second St., Defiance, Ohio 43512.  Entries must be received by 5:00 p.m. Friday, January 31, 2014.  Make checks payable to “The Crescent-News”.  Entries can also be submitted online through the Cutest Baby Contest registration page at www.crescent-news.com.  Complete the entry form, upload a photo and complete the credit card payment information.  Finish by clicking the “SUBMIT” button.  The entry fee will appear on your credit card statement as Online Contest-APT from Advanced Prepress Technologies, Inc., Burbank, CA.
   Limit one child per photo for contest entry. Photos of children age 5 and older and group photos of more than one child will not be entered in the contest but will be accepted for publication in The Crescent-News Smiling Faces supplement on Friday, March 21.  Photos with more than two children should be submitted at The Crescent-News office to determine space requirements and charges.
   All printed photos should be of reproducible quality.  Kiosk and color printer copies cannot be accepted. Please write the baby’s name along with the name and phone number of the person submitting the entry on the back of the photo.  Printed photos can be picked up at The Crescent-News after the contest or will be mailed back if a self-addressed stamped envelope is provided.  Digital photos submitted online or emailed to The Crescent-News should be in JPG format and 240 dpi.
   Entries with incomplete or incorrect information will not be accepted.  All entries submitted directly to The Crescent-News will be posted on the contest website as they are received.

3. Copyrights: Entering the contest authorizes the Defiance Publishing Company to place the baby’s name and photo, along with the parents’ names, on the contest web site, in the Smiling Faces supplement, and, if applicable, in the Babies of 2013 calendar.  Photos taken by professional photographers must have a release form.  The contest entrant will assume all copyright infringement charges and legal consequences incurred from unauthorized use of a restricted photo.

4. Voting:  Voting is open to the general public, limited to persons 18 years of age or older.  Each vote costs 50 cents.  There is no limit to the number of votes a person can make.  Voting totals will be posted online as they are received.
   Voting will be done in three rounds. The first round of voting will begin at 12:01 a.m. (EST) Wednesday, February 5, 2014 and conclude at 5:00 p.m. Monday, February 17.  Votes may be submitted in-person or by mail at the Crescent-News office, or online.  Mailed and in-person votes must be received by 4:00 p.m. on February 17.  The top 50% of entries receiving votes during Round One will move on to the second round of voting.   VOTES FROM ROUND ONE DO NOT CARRY OVER TO ROUND TWO.  The second round of voting will begin 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, February 19 and end at 5:00 p.m  Monday, March 3.  Mailed and in-person votes must be received by 4:00 p.m. on March 3.   The top 50% of entries receiving votes during Round Two will move on to the third and final round of voting.   VOTES FROM ROUND TWO DO NOT CARRY OVER TO ROUND THREE.  The final round of voting will begin 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, March 5 and end at 5:00 p.m  Monday, March 17.  Mailed and in-person votes must be received by 4:00 p.m. on March 17.   
   On-line votes may be cast at www.crescent-news.com using a valid credit card including MasterCard, Visa and Discover.  The minimum amount of votes purchased online with a credit card is $5.00.  Credit card transactions are non-cancelable and non-refundable. If your credit card is declined for any reason, no vote will be submitted on your behalf.  Charges for voting online will appear on your credit card statement as “Online Contest-APT” from Advanced Prepress Technologies, Inc., Burbank, CA.  Your computer must accept cookies which may be used for the purpose of entry tracking.  Ad blocking software on your computer needs to be disabled so it does not interfere with processing your entry.
   Proceeds from voting will be used to support The Crescent-News’ Newspaper In Education Program in area schools.

5. Refund/Cancellation Policy:  All entry and voting fees are non-cancelable and non-refundable.

6. Prizes:  One Grand Prize winner will receive $1,000.00 and will have his/her photo published in color on the front cover of the 2014 Smiling Faces Edition.  The second place winner will be awarded $500.00.  The third place winner will be awarded $250.00.  Photos of the second and third place winners will be featured on the inside of the front cover. Entrants born in 2013 will also have their photos reproduced in a glossy Babies of 2013 Calendar.  Photos of the top 12 vote getters will be featured, as long as their photos are of adequate quality. The entrant receiving the most votes in Round Two will receive a gift certificate for a free family setting and 16”x20” portrait from Rod Brown Photography ($314 value). For entrants born in 2013, the top 12 vote-getters in the last round will be featured in the Babies of 2013 Calendar as long as their photos are of adequate quality.

7. Winner Determination, Notification and Acceptance:  The grand prize, second and third place winners will be the entries receiving the GREATEST NUMBER OF VOTES IN THE FINAL ROUND of voting.  In the event of a tie, the prizes will be combined and divided equally among the tied entries.  Odds of winning depend on the number of entries and eligible votes received.  Winners will be notified on or about March 18, 2014, at the telephone number provided on the winner’s entry form.  Acceptance of any prize constitutes winner’s consent to the publication of his or her name, biographical information and likeness in any media for promotional purposes without further compensation.  A valid photo identification of the parent or legal guardian may be required.  Winners are solely responsible for reporting and paying of any taxes due on prizes.

8. Participation:  The 2014 Cutest Baby Contest is sponsored by The Defiance Publishing Company.   Entrants agree that all decisions of The Defiance Publishing Company regarding the selection of winners and all other aspects of the contest shall be final and binding. The Defiance Publishing Company reserves the right to disqualify persons found tampering with or otherwise abusing any aspect of this contest .

9. Indemnification:  The Crescent-News will not be responsible for incomplete, lost, late, postage-due, misdirected or illegible entries or votes due to 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 Crescent-News.   In the event the contest is compromised by a virus, tampering or other causes which corrupts or impairs the administration, security, fairness or proper operation of the contest, The Crescent-News reserves the right to suspend, modify or terminate the 2014 Cutest Baby Contest.   The Crescent-News will not be responsible for typographical, printing or other inadvertent errors in these official rules or any other material regarding the contest.

If you have any questions regarding this contest, please telephone 419-784-5441 ext. 233.