Firstline Challenge official contest rules

FIRSTLINE CHALLENGE Contest

Official Rules

NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.

FIRSTLINE CHALLENGE (the “Contest”) starts on October 12, 2009, and ends on February 15, 2010, (“Contest Period”). 

ELIGIBILITY: Entries will be accepted from credentialed technicians, practice managers, receptionists and assistants working in veterinary practices in the United States who are legal residents of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia and at least 21 years of age or older.  Employees of Advanstar Communications Inc. (“Sponsor”), and each of and its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, promotion and advertising agencies, and members of their immediate family (spouse, parent, child, sibling, and their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside) and persons living in the same household of such employees, whether or not related, are not eligible to enter or win. An eligible minor should have his/her parent's or legal guardian's permission to enter.  Void where prohibited by law.  Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws.

HOW TO ENTER:  Go to www.dvm360.com/challenge for a list of necessary steps to enter.  The entry process requires the following: 1) if you are not already a member, you need to join the dvm360.com community; 2) write a blog with a title that begins with “FIRSTLINE CHALLENGE”; 3) select the Firstline Challenge blog Category tag.   The blogs must be written about one of four topics:  Team Building, Patient Care, Professional Growth and Client Relations.   A topic of the month will be presented in the Firstline Magazine and online at dvm360.com (the “Website”).  The entry must include discussion about the problem entrant hoped to improve in one of the topic areas – how entrant went about making the improvements, how the improvements affected entrant and the practice and any challenges entrant faced.  Entrants may submit a blog entry about any of the four topics at any time during the Contest Period.  Blogs must be between 300 and 800 words.  Each entry must be entrant's own original work, be in English, true and verifiable, be in keeping with the Sponsor's image and may not be offensive or inappropriate, as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion, nor can it defame or invade publicity rights or privacy of any person, living or deceased, or otherwise infringe upon any person's personal or property rights or any other third party rights and must be submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Website.  Sponsor reserves the right to void any entry it deems in its sole discretion to be offensive or inappropriate, not in keeping with Sponsor's image or that is otherwise not in compliance with these Official Rules.  Limit one (1) entry per person/email address/household per day.  Multiple entries received per day from any person/email address/ household after the first entry received from that person/email address/ household will be void.  Entries generated by script, macro or other automated or mechanical means are void.  All entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. 

JUDGING:  All eligible entries received by Sponsor will be judged by a panel of judges on the following criteria:  20% creativity, how unique and well-thought out entrant's comments and ideas are; 35% thoughtfulness, how much entrant reflected and discussed in the blog entrant's personal experiences, team member's experiences as well as how these experiences might benefit the practice and its patients and clients; 45% on benefit to the practice, how entrant's ideas or experiences helped entrant grow individually, how entrant's ideas helped the overall team and the practice, including its patients and clients and how these ideas may help and inspire other team members, to determine the highest scoring entries, as determined by the judges in their sole discretion.  In the event of a tie, an additional, “tie-breaking” judge will determine the winner(s) from among such tied entries based on the criteria listed herein. Sponsor reserves the right to not award all prizes if, in its sole discretion, it does not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified entries.  Judges' decisions are final and binding on all matters relating to this Contest. 

WINNER NOTIFICATION: Potential winners will be notified on or about March 15, 2010, via their dvm360.com community inbox.  Potential winners (or, if a company, a representative authorized to act on company's behalf) may be required to execute an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability and Publicity Release (unless prohibited by law), which must be returned within seven (7) days of date appearing on prize notification and a W-9 form.  Return of prize or prize notification as undeliverable, failure to execute and return requested documentation within seven (7) days of date of issuance, or noncompliance with these Official Rules by the any potential winner will result in disqualification and, at Sponsor's sole discretion the prize may be awarded to a runner-up. 

GRAND PRIZE: One (1) iPod Touch, Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) $199.00.   

FIRST PLACE PRIZE:  Three (3) winners, each one receiving one (1) iPod Shuffle, ARV of each $59.00. Total ARV of all three First Place Prizes: $177.00.  Total ARV of all prizes: $376.00. 

All prize details will be at the sole discretion of Sponsor.  Prizes are awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied by Sponsor.  No substitution, transfer, or cash equivalent of prize is permitted, except by Sponsor, which reserves the right to substitute a prize (or portion thereof) of comparable or greater value, at its sole discretion.  Any and all federal, state and local taxes on a prize as well as any other costs, fees, and expenses associated with acceptance and use of a prize not explicitly stated herein as being awarded are the sole responsibility of the winners.

OWNERSHIP/USE OF ENTRY:  By submitting an entry, in addition to the rights granted to Sponsor under the Website's Terms and Conditions of Use, entrant further agrees Sponsor shall own the entry submitted (including any photographs and graphics, if applicable, and the blog and all rights embodied therein) and that it and its designees may exploit, edit, modify, and distribute the entry and all elements of such entry, including, without limitation, the names, likenesses, trademarks and logos of any persons or locations embodied therein, in any and all media now known or not currently known,  throughout the world in perpetuity without compensation, permission or notification to entrant or any third party.  Sponsor reserves all rights, and at its discretion, to remove from or retain on its Website, during or after the Contest Period, any or all entry blogs.

GENERAL:  By participating, each entrant agrees: (a) to abide by these rules and decisions of Sponsor and judges, which shall be final and binding in all respects relating to this Contest; (b) to release, discharge and hold harmless Sponsor, and its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, and advertising and promotion agencies, and the respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents and representatives of the forgoing (collectively, “Released Parties”) from any and all injuries, liability, losses and damages of any kind to persons, including death, or property resulting, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from entrant's participation in the Contest or any Contest-related activity or the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any awarded prize or the use of any rights granted herein; and (c) to the use of his/her name, company name, city and state of residence, trademarks, logos, photographs, image, likeness and/or entry (photographs and essay) for programming, advertising, publicity and promotional purposes in any and all media, now or hereafter known, worldwide and on the Internet, and in perpetuity by Sponsor and its designees, without compensation (unless prohibited by law) or additional consents from entrant or any third party and without prior notice, approval or inspection, and to execute specific consent to such use if asked to do so. 

Released Parties are not responsible for late, lost, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, inaccurate, illegible, undeliverable, destroyed or stolen entries or mail; or for any technical, typographical, printing, human or other errors or problems relating to or in connection with this Contest, including, without limitation, errors or problems which may occur in connection with the administration of the Contest, the processing or judging of entries, the announcement of the prizes or in any Contest related materials. Released Parties are not responsible for injury or damage to participants' or to any other person's computer related to or resulting from participating in this Contest or downloading materials from or use of the web site.  Should any portion of the contest be, in Sponsor's sole opinion, compromised by virus, worms, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or other causes which, in the sole opinion of the Sponsor, corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness or proper play, or submission of entries, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate the contest and, if terminated, at its discretion, select the potential winners from all eligible, non-suspect entries received prior to action taken or as otherwise deemed fair and appropriate by Sponsor. Sponsor may disqualify anyone (and void his/her entry) from participating in the Contest or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines that such person is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, deception or other unfair playing practices, or intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other entrant or Sponsor's representatives or is in violation of these Official Rules. ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND OTHER REMEDIES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS' FEES) FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to cancel or suspend the Contest should tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, or any other causes corrupt the administration, security or proper play of the Contest and, if terminated, at its discretion, judge all non-suspect, eligible entries received up to time of such impairment using the judging procedure outlined above.

PRIVACY POLICY: Sponsor's privacy policy may be found at www.dvm360.com.   That privacy policy discloses what information Sponsor collects and how it is used, which includes the entry information provided by entrant hereunder. Such use includes without limitation a) sharing entrant's name and contact information with Sponsor's affiliates and partners and third parties licensed to access that information by any of the foregoing and b) renting lists compiled from the entrant's entry information (including e-mail addresses) gathered from this contest and/or the applicable Advanstar or its affiliates' website. By entering into this Contest, entrant signifies its acceptance of the terms of Sponsor's Privacy Policy. 

REQUEST FOR WINNERS' NAMES: For a list of winners (available after April, 15, 2010) send a hand-printed, self-addressed, stamped, envelope by July 15, 2010, to: Firstline Editor, 8033 Flint Street, Lenexa, KS 66214

Sponsor: Advanstar Communications Inc., 8033 Flint Street, Lenexa, KS 66214.