CUTEST PET CONTEST IN SOUTHERN MARYLAND

 OFFICIAL RULES

(All federal, state, local and municipal laws and regulations apply.  Void where prohibited.)

1. Eligibility:  Cutest Pet Contest in Southern Maryland is open to residents of the United States. Entries may be submitted by the owner of the pet. Employees of the Adams Publishing Group of Chesapeake, LLC and their immediate family members are not eligible to enter or win.

2. How to Enter:   The cost to enter is $10.00 per pet which also covers publication in the 2017 Cutest Pet Album publishing in the January 11, 2017 edition of the Calvert Recorder, Maryland Independent, and Enterprise. Entries can be submitted online through the Cutest Pet Contest in Southern Maryland registration page at www.somdnews.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..

You may also enter by mail. Entry forms can be found in editions of the Calvert Recorder, Maryland Independent, and Enterprise.  To enter by mail, return a completed form along with a photo of the pet and entry fee to the Cutest Pet Contest in Southern Maryland, P.O. Box 600, Easton, MD 21601.  You may also enter by emailing us at themepages@chespub.com to request an entry form or send your entry information and photo. We will follow up with you for payment information. Completed entries must be received by midnight on Friday, January 6, 2017.  Make checks payable to the “Maryland Independent”. 

Limit one pet per photo for contest entry. All photos should be of reproducible quality.  Images should be in focus and not grainy.   Kiosk and color printer copies cannot be accepted. Please write the pet’s name along with the name and phone number of the person submitting the entry on the back of the photo.  Your original printed photos will be returned if a self-addressed stamped envelope is provided.  Digital photos submitted online or emailed to the Calvert Recorder, Maryland Independent, or Enterprise should be in JPG format and 240 dpi.   All entries will be posted on the contest website as they are received and approved by our contest administrator.  Entries with incomplete or incorrect information will not be accepted. The Calvert Recorder, Maryland Independent, and Enterprise reserve the right to cancel the contest and return the nomination fees if fewer than twenty (20) entries are received. 

3. Copyrights: Entering the contest authorizes the Adams Publishing Group of Chesapeake, LLC and the Calvert Recorder, Maryland Independent, and Enterprise to place the pet’s name and photo, along with the owner’s name(s), on the contest web site and in the Cutest Pet Album.  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 25 cents.  There is no limit to the number of votes a person can make.  Voting purchase minimum $5.00. Voting totals will be posted online as they are received. Voting will be done in two rounds. The first round of voting will begin at 12:01 a.m. (EST) Saturday, January 7, 2017 and conclude at 11:59:59 p.m. on Monday, January 16, 2017.  Votes may be submitted by mail, or in-person at the Star Democrat office, or online.  Mailed and in-person votes must be received by 4:00 p.m. on January 16.  To move onto round 2, entries must have a total of 60 or more votes.  VOTES FROM ROUND ONE DO NOT CARRY OVER TO ROUND TWO.  The second round of voting will begin 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, January 18, 2017 and end at 11:59:59 p.m. on Tuesday, January 24.  Mailed and in-person votes for round 2  must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 24. 

On-line votes may be cast at www.somdnews.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.

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

6. Prizes:  The entrant receiving the most votes in Round One will be awarded a $50.00 prize and the entrant receiving the most votes in Round Two will be awarded $50.00 prize. Our panel of judges will award three grand prize winners from the Second Round, one from each of the following three categories: 1) Dogs 2) Cats and 3) Other Wonderful Pets. The grand prize winners in each of these three categories will be awarded a $100 prize and all winners will be recognized and published in the Friday, January 27, 2017 edition of the Calvert Recorder, Maryland Independent, and Enterprise. If there are no entrants from one or more categories above during Round Two, no prize will be awarded in that category.

7. Winner Determination, Notification and Acceptance:  The First Round winner will be the entry receiving the greatest number of votes during the first round of voting. The Second Round winner will be the entry receiving the greatest number of votes during the second round of voting. Our panel of judges will determine three grand prize winners. These winners will be chosen from the Second Round, one from each of the following three categories: 1) Dogs 2) Cats and 3) Other Wonderful Pets.  Judging criteria for the three categories is based on but not limited to the following:  Technical quality & composition, originality & creativity, personality & appeal of pet. Here are some general tips to get a great photo: Use good lighting (natural light is usually best), Show your pet’s face , Make sure your pet is in focus. 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 of both rounds will be notified on or about January 27, 2017, at the telephone number provided on the winner’s entry form.  Results are not final until all voting transactions by check or credit card have been approved.  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 Cutest Pet Contest in Southern Maryland is sponsored by the Adams Publishing Group of Chesapeake, LLC.   Entrants agree that all decisions of Adams Publishing Group of Chesapeake, LLC regarding the selection of winners and all other aspects of the contest shall be final and binding. The Adams Publishing Group of Chesapeake LLC reserves the right to disqualify persons found tampering with or otherwise abusing any aspect of this contest.

9. Indemnification:  The Calvert Recorder, Maryland Independent, and Enterprise 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 Calvert Recorder, Maryland Independent, and Enterprise.   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 Calvert Recorder, Maryland Independent, and Enterprise reserves the right to suspend, modify or terminate the Cutest Pet Contest in Southern Maryland.   The Calvert Recorder, Maryland Independent, and Enterprise will not be responsible for typographical, printing or other inadvertent errors in these official rules or any other material regarding the contest.

10. Governing Law and Disputes. All participants agree to abide by these Official Rules and by the decisions of the Sponsor. This Contest is governed by the laws of the state of Maryland. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Sponsors reserve the right to terminate or modify the Contest in its sole discretion. Except where prohibited, all participants agree that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the United States District Court for the District of Maryland; (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Contest, but in no event, attorneys' fees; and (3) under no circumstances will participants be permitted to obtain awards for, and participant hereby waives all rights to claim, indirect, punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the entrant and Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and accordance with, the laws of the State of Maryland without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules, which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Maryland. 

If you have any questions regarding this contest, please telephone 1-800-220-1230 or email themepages@chespub.com.