Conway Area Humane Society Home Essay Contest Rules

Help Roscoe’s Homeless Animal Friends at the Conway Area Humane Society
Win the grand prize* of a furnished home*** appraised at $ 781,000* in one of the most beautiful destination spots in New England (the “Home”). The Home*** is located at 49 Falcon Way, Hales Location, New Hampshire, just minutes from North Conway Village in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.

Contest Entries:
To enter, please submit the following to the Conway Area Humane Society (the “Society”):
(1) a completed entry form;
(2) a $50** entry fee; and
(3) Your choice of one of the following: (a) a written essay of up to 750 words; (b) a video up to 3 minutes; (c) 1 to 2 photographs (less than 2MB each if sent through email); (d) a poem of up to 500 words; or (e) a song of up to 3 minutes. (For simplicity, all forms of entries are included in the term “Essay” as it is used in the balance of these Rules.)

All entries must be the original work of the entrant.

Evaluation of Entries:
Entries will be evaluated based upon their ability to convince those evaluating them that the entrant should win the Home***. Each entry will be judged on style, content, originality, creativity, and how well the Essay addresses the question of why the entrant should win the Home ***. Humorous entries or those that tug at the heartstrings are encouraged. All eligible entries will be initially reviewed by a panel of judges, composed of community volunteers, Society staff, and members of the Society’s Board of Directors (the “Judges”). The Judges will select the top 10 entries.
The top 10 entries, as selected by the Judges, will then be judged by a Community Panel (the “Panel”) composed of persons who are not employees of the Society, or members of the Society’s Board of Directors. Panel members are recognized community leaders, and/or have expertise in photography, video development, or creative writing. The Panel will rank the top 10 entries selected by the Judges in order, and the grand prize will be awarded as described below in “Announcement of Winner”.
The judges and panel members will not know the identities of the entrants. To ensure the anonymity of participants, all entries will be assigned a unique identifying number upon receipt, and any identifying information will be removed before the Judges and Panel rate the entries.
The decisions of the Judges and of the Panel are final.

Submission of Entries:
Entries may be submitted online at info@newenglandhomecontest.com or through the mail to
New England Home Contest
c/o Conway Area Humane Society
P.O. Box 260
Conway NH 03818.

Entries that include a video submission may include a link to access the video online, through YouTube™.

Entry Forms:
Entry forms are available online at www.newenglandhomecontest.com , by mail request to: New England Home Contest, c/o CAHS, PO. Box 260, Conway NH, 03818 or by calling 603-447-5605.
Entries will not be returned to entrants.
Minimum Age:
Entrants must be 18 years or older.
Eligible Entries:
All eligible entries will be entered into the Essay Contest. Any ineligible entries will be discarded. The Society will notify ineligible entrants by mail or email and refund the entry fee.

Entry Deadline:
Entries must be submitted by September 30, 2009, at 4:00 p.m. (“Application Deadline”).
If fewer than 19,750 eligible entry fees are received on or before Application Deadline, the Society reserves the right to extend the Deadline until the earlier of: (a) the date on which 19,750 eligible entry fees are received; or (b) January 28, 2010.

Early Bird Raffles:
Entries received on or before 4:00 p.m. on August 10, 2009 will also be eligible to participate in an Early Bird Raffle. If at least 400 eligible entry fees have been received on or before 4:00 p.m. on August 10, 2009, the raffle prize will be $10,000 cash*, otherwise it will be half* of the amount of eligible entry fees received on or before such date.
Entries received on or before September 10, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. will also be eligible to participate in a second Early Bird Raffle. If at least 200 eligible entries have been received between August 10, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. and September 10, 2009 at 4:00 p.m., the raffle prize will be $5,000 cash*, otherwise it will be half* of the amount of eligible entry fees received during such time period.

No Cash in Lieu of Prize:
Where a prize offered is not cash, the Winner will have no right to the cash value of the prize in lieu of the prize.

Announcement of Winner:
If less than 19,750 eligible entry fees have been received by the Society by the Deadline, and the Society has exercised its right to convert the grand prize*** to cash, the grand prize*** will be awarded to the top ranked entrant as selected by the Panel.
If 19,750 or more eligible entry fees have been received by the Society by the Deadline, the grand prize*** will be awarded to the top-ranked entrant, as selected by the Panel, so long as he or she is willing and able to execute the Agreement to Accept Prize within 72 hours of notification. In the event that the top-ranked entrant is not willing or able to execute the Agreement to Accept Prize within 72 hours of notification, the grand prize*** will be awarded to the Panel’s second-ranked entrant, so long as he or she is willing and able to execute the Agreement to Accept Prize within 72 hours of notification. In the event that the second-ranked entrant is not willing or able to execute the Agreement to Accept Prize within 72 hours of notification, the grand prize*** will be awarded to the Panel’s 3rd through 10th ranked entrants in order and in the same manner until an entrant actually executes the Agreement to Accept Prize within 72 hours of notification. Entrants who do not respond to the Society within 72 hours will be deemed to have declined to accept the grand prize***. In the event that none of the top 10 entrants selected by the Panel is willing or able to execute the Agreement to Accept Prize within 72 hours of notification, the grand prize*** will be awarded to the #1 entry originally selected by the Panel as set forth in the Section of these Rules entitled “Failure to Close or Accept Prize.” (Both the cash winner and the winner of the Home are referred to as the “Winner” in these Rules).
If less than 19,750 eligible entry fees are received by the Society by the Deadline, the Society will announce the Winner at 2:00 p.m. on October 30, 2009 at the Society’s offices in Conway, New Hampshire. If 19,750 or more eligible entry fees are received by the Society by the Deadline, the Society will contact the #1 entrant selected by the Panel at 2:00 p.m. on October 30, 2009 and will announce the Winner at the Society’s offices in Conway, New Hampshire as soon as an entrant agrees to execute the Agreement to Accept Prize. The Winner’s name will also be posted on the contest website at www.newenglandhomecontest.com. Should the Deadline be extended as provided in these Rules, the announcement dates set forth in this section will be extended accordingly, and if the extended date falls on a Sunday or holiday, shall be the next business day.

 Other Terms and Conditions:
By submitting an entry, entrants consent to the use of their entry, name, photograph, biography, and voice for any purposes associated with the charitable purposes of the Society, without limitation and without compensation, except where prohibited by law.

Odds of Winning:
The odds of winning the early bird raffles will depend upon the number of eligible entries received by each of the Early Bird Raffles’ applicable dates. The odds of winning the grand prize*** will depend upon how many entries are received.

Entry Fees Nonrefundable:
Entry fees are non refundable except where it is determined that the entry is ineligible to participate in the contest.

Agreement to Accept Prize:
The Winner of the Home must sign an Agreement to Accept Prize, a copy of which is available on line at the Conway Area Humane Society contest website (www.newenglandhomecontest.com), by mail request to New England Home Essay Contest, c/o CAHS, P.O. Box 260, Conway NH 03818, or by calling 603-447-5605.

Failure to Close or to Accept Prize:
In the event that the Society receives 19,750 or more eligible entry fees, and either (a) none of the top 10 entrants are willing to execute the Agreement to Accept Prize, or (b) an entrant has executed the Agreement to Accept Prize but is unable or unwilling to take title to the Home***, the Society shall (A) acquire the Home*** using eligible entry fees received to date, (B) re-sell the Home*** by auction or means reasonably selected by the Society. In such a case the grand prize*** will be converted to 50% of the net proceeds of the re-sale after deducting all expenses and all closing costs, and the grand prize*** will be awarded to the #1 entrant selected by the Panel, even if such entrant is different from the entrant who executed the Agreement to Accept Prize.

Ownership of Home/Purchase Agreement:
The Conway Area Humane Society does not own the Home***. Its obligations to convey the Home*** to the Winner of the Contest are expressly subject to the terms of a Purchase and Sale Agreement (“Purchase Agreement”) between the owners of the Home*** (the “Sellers”) and the Society, and to the Sellers’ performance of their obligations under the Purchase Agreement, a copy of which is available on line at the Conway Area Humane Society website (www.newenglandhomecontest.com), by mail request to New England Home Essay Contest, c/o CAHS, P.O. Box 260, Conway NH 03818, or by calling 603-447-5605. To claim the Home*** as the grand prize***, the Winner must comply with and will be subject to all of the terms and conditions of the Purchase Agreement, except those that are expressly inapplicable to the Winner.

Disclaimer:
The Conway Area Humane Society shall not be liable to the Winner for delays in the transfer of the Home*** caused by Sellers or for the Sellers’ failure to perform under the Purchase Agreement. Similarly, the Sellers shall not be liable to Winner for delays in the transfer of the Home*** caused by the Society or the Society’s failure to perform under the Purchase Agreement.
The Home*** shall be transferred to the Winner “as is” and “where is”, and without warranty as to the environmental condition of the Home***, and without any express or implied warranties or representations of any kind or nature whatsoever, including without limitation the so-called implied warranties of title, merchantability, habitability and fitness for a particular purpose. The Society makes no representations or warranties with respect to (a) the accuracy of any statement as to the boundaries, acreage, frontage, or other matters in the description of the Home***; (b) the legal status of title or condition of any building or improvement; or (c) the Home’s*** compliance with zoning or any other federal, state, or local law.

Transfer of Title:
In lieu of first taking title to the Home*** and then re-conveying the Home*** to the Winner, the Society reserves the right to assign the Purchase Agreement to the Winner at or prior to closing and to direct the Sellers to convey the Home*** directly to the Winner. In such a case, the Winner shall be subject to all conditions relating to and shall be responsible to perform all obligations of the Purchaser under the Purchase Agreement, with the sole exception of the payment of the purchase price and purchaser’s real estate closing costs (which costs expressly exclude any Federal income tax withholding).

Certain Individuals Ineligible:
The following are ineligible to enter the Contest:
(1) Employees and volunteers of the Conway Area Humane Society;
(2) Members of the Board of Directors of the Conway Area Humane Society;
(3) Representatives of the Conway Area Humane Society, including consultants, attorneys, advertisers, accountants;
(4) The Judges and Panel members; and
(5) The spouses and members of the immediate family of those listed in (1) through (4).

Legal Compliance:
All federal, state, and local laws apply. The contest is void where prohibited or restricted by law.

 Appraisals:
Appraisals of the Home*** and its contents are available on line at the Conway Area Humane Society website (www.newenglandhomecontest.com), by mail request to New England Home Essay Contest, c/o CAHS, P.O. Box 260, Conway NH 03818, or by calling 603-447-5605. The Society makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy of the appraisals.

*Federal Income Taxes Must be Paid on Value of Prize:
The value of any prize will be taxable income to the Winner. Accordingly, to claim the Home*** the Winner must deliver to the Society at closing in the form of cash, wire transfer funds, or acceptable bank or certified check, the total amount of the Federal income tax withholding required by law. For example, the Winner of the Home*** valued at $781,000, whose annual income fell in the 35% tax bracket would be required to pay approximately $273,350 to the Society before being able to take title to the Home***. Similarly, the Society will withhold the amount of the required Federal income tax withholding from any cash prize. For example, if the annual income of the Winner of the Early Bird Raffle for $10,000 fell in the 25% tax bracket, the Society would withhold approximately $2,500 of the prize.

**Entry Fee Not Donation:
The amount of the entry fee, $50, is not considered a charitable donation.

***Changing Grand Prize from Home* to Cash*:
If fewer than 19,750 eligible entry fees are received on or before the Application Deadline (as it may be extended pursuant to these Rules), the Society reserves the right to change the grand prize from the Home* to half the amount of the eligible entry fees collected on or before October 30, 2009* less the amount of the Early Bird Raffle Prizes and the Society’s costs of conducting the Essay Contest. Further, the grand prize may be converted to cash after the resale of the Premises as provided in the Section of these Rules entitled “Failure to Close or Accept Prize.”