July 26, 2010 through September 10, 2010
PRELIMINARY INFORMATION: No purchase necessary, void outside the WRC/WZDC terrestrial geographic viewing area and where prohibited. The Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest (“Contest”) begins at 12:01 a.m. ET on July 26, 2010, and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on September 10, 2010 ("Contest Period"). All times in the Contest refer to Eastern Time (“ET”). Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws.
SPONSORS: WRC, located at 4001 Nebraska Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20016 (“WRC”) and NBC Universal, Inc., located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10115 (“NBC”) and Telemundo, WZDC Washington, D.C. (2775 South Quincy Street, Suite 100, Arlington, Va. 22206) shall be the sponsors of this Contest and shall be referred to herein collectively as “Sponsors”.
ELIGIBILITY: Open only to permanent, legal U.S. residents who are physically located in the WZDC TELEMUNDO /WRC terrestrial geographic viewing area in the District of Columbia; the counties of Allegany, Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, Prince George’s, St. Mary’s, and Washington in the state of Maryland; and the counties of Arlington, Clarke, Culpepper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick, King George, Loudoun, Page, Prince William, Rappahannock, Shenandoah, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Warren, and Westmoreland in the state of Virginia; who are between thirteen (13) and eighteen (18) years of age as of July 26, 2010 ; and who are enrolled as a student in grades nine (9) through twelve (12) in a school located in the WZDC/WRC terrestrial geographic viewing area (as described above) at the time of Entry. Officers, directors, and employees of Contest Entities (as defined below), members of these persons’ immediate families (spouses and/or parents, children, and siblings, and their spouses, regardless of where they reside), and/or persons living in the same households as these persons (whether related or not thereto) are not eligible to enter the Contest. Contest Entities, as referenced herein, shall include Sponsors, their respective parent, subsidiary, and affiliate companies, their administrative, advertising, and promotion agencies, and any other entity involved in the development, administration, promotion, or implementation of the Contest.
TO ENTER: To enter, access the WRC website at www.nbcwashington.com and search for the keywords “Hispanic Heritage Contest.” Follow the instructions provided to download, print, and complete the entry form, which includes your name, address, phone number, email address, date of birth, and the title of your essay (“Entry Form”). You may also download the entry form from the Telemundo website at www.holaciudad.com. You must also write an essay (“Essay”) on the following topic (“Topic”): “Why is Hispanic Heritage Month important?” Entry Form and Essay will together constitute your entry into the Contest (“Entry”). Essay must be original (that is, written and created by you—assistance of any type is strictly prohibited), typed in the English language, and no more than one thousand (1,000) words in length. If an Essay exceeds this length, only the first one thousand (1,000) words will be judged. Mail the Entry Form and the Essay to: Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest, WZDC, 2775 South Quincy Street, Arlington, VA 22206. Entry Forms are also available at the above address.
All Entries become the property of WZDC, WRC, 4001 Nebraska Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20016, NBC Universal, Inc., 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112 and will not be acknowledged or returned. By entering, you agree that the Essay and any other portion of your Entry may be broadcast on television or may appear on the Website, and in promotions and advertisements as determined by Sponsors in their sole discretion. By entering the Contest, entrant grants Sponsors the non-exclusive, royalty-free, and irrevocable rights to use, reproduce, copy, publish, display, distribute, perform, translate, adapt, modify, and otherwise exploit entrant’s Entry and to incorporate it in other works in any and all markets and media now or hereafter known, throughout the world in perpetuity. Entrant warrants that he/she has the sole and exclusive right to grant such rights to Sponsors, and that the Sponsors’ reproduction, publishing, displaying, and/or other use of the Entry will not infringe on any rights of third parties, including, but not limited to, copyright, trademark, privacy, or publicity rights anywhere in the world. Sponsors shall have no obligation to copy, publish, display, or otherwise exploit the Entries.
Entries must be received before 11:59 p.m. ET on September 10, 2010 ("Contest Period") to be eligible for the Contest. You may enter only once during the Contest Period. Multiple entries received from any person beyond this limit will void all such additional entries. The same Essay (or portions thereof) may not be used for more than one (1) Entry. Multiple Entries received for any single Essay (or portions thereof) will void all such additional Entries and contestants submitting such multiple Entries may be disqualified as determined by Sponsors in their sole discretion. Only the first eligible Entry featuring such Essay will be eligible for entry. Each Essay must be original, truthful (as applicable), unpublished, created solely by the submitting contestant, and must not have been submitted in any other competition. Entries that are incomplete, garbled, unintelligible or illegible for any reason are void and will not be accepted. Entry constitutes permission (except where prohibited by law) to use entrant’s name, city, state, likeness, image, and/or voice for purposes of advertising, promotion, and publicity in any and all media now or hereafter known, throughout the world in perpetuity, without additional compensation, notification, permission, or approval.
Past experience has confirmed that contests and other competitions of this nature generate substantially similar Essays that closely resemble concepts and ideas that have been independently developed by Released Parties (as defined below) before or after such contests or competitions. Accordingly, contestants may subsequently see a Released Party presentation that seemingly incorporates an idea or concept or includes materials similar to that contained in their Essay. Any similarity is purely coincidental and unavoidable in light of the volume of ideas that Released Parties routinely consider in the course of their business development.
WINNER SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION: On or about September 15, 2010, up to ten (10) finalists (“Finalists”) will be selected by a panel of qualified judges, including community leaders and notable personalities, chosen at Sponsors’ sole discretion (collectively, “Judges”). Essays will be judged based on the following criteria measured on a 100-point scale: 1) originality (twenty-five (25) points); 2) relevance to the Topic (twenty-five (25) points); 3) grammar (twenty-five (25) points); and 4) style (twenty-five (25) points). The Entrants who submitted the Essays that receive the ten (10) highest point totals will be named Finalists. In the event of a tie, the Essays of the entrants who achieved the same score will be sent to an additional tie-breaking judge who will score the Essays based on the criteria listed above. Sponsors reserve the right to select fewer than ten (10), or no, Finalists and/or to terminate the Contest or extend the Contest Period, if, in Sponsors’ sole discretion, an insufficient number of eligible, complete, tasteful, or appropriate Entries are received. Sponsors will make two (2) attempts to notify each Finalist at the phone number and/or email address submitted at the time of Entry. Each Finalist (or his/her parent or legal guardian if he/she is a minor) may be required to execute and return an affidavit of eligibility, release of liability, and, except where prohibited, publicity release (collectively, “Contest Documents”) within five (5) days of such notification. Noncompliance within this time period may result in disqualification, and the entrant with the next highest score based on the judging criteria listed above may be selected as an alternate Finalist. If a Finalist cannot be reached, if he/she is found to be ineligible, if he/she cannot or does not comply with these Official Rules, or if his/her Contest Documents are returned as undeliverable, Finalist may be disqualified and the entrant with the next highest score based on the judging criteria listed above may be selected as an alternate Finalist.
Finalists will be invited to NBC4/WRC to attend an award presentation in September, 2010 (date to be determined and subject to change). The Finalist who submitted the Essay with the highest point total will be named the potential first prize winner. The Finalist who submitted the Essay with the second highest point total will be named the potential second prize winner. The Finalist who submitted the Essay with the third highest point total will be named the potential third prize winner. The Finalist who submitted the Essay with the fourth highest point total will be named the potential fourth prize winner. All decisions of the Judges are final and binding.
If any potential winner is not in attendance at the reception, Sponsors will make two (2) attempts to notify the potential winner(s) at the phone number and/or email address submitted at the time of Entry. If any of the potential winners cannot be reached, if he/she cannot or does not comply with these Official Rules, or if his/her prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, the potential winner may be disqualified and the Finalist with the next highest score based on the judging criteria listed above may be named the potential winner of the corresponding prize.
PRIZE: There will be one (1) first prize awarded, consisting of two hundred dollars ($200). There will be one (1) second prize awarded, consisting of one hundred dollars ($100). There will be one (1) third prize awarded, consisting of fifty dollars ($50). There will be one (1) fourth prize awarded, consisting of twenty-five dollars ($25)
Estimated Retail Value of all prizes is three hundred and seventy five dollars ($375). All prize details, including form of prizes, are at Sponsors’ sole discretion. Sponsors reserve the right to substitute a similar prize of comparable or greater value at their sole discretion. All taxes and other expenses, costs, or fees associated with the acceptance and/or use of any prize are the sole responsibility of winners. Prizes cannot be transferred by winners and are valid only for the items detailed above, with no substitution of prizes by winners. If any prize is unclaimed, it will be forfeited, and such prize may be awarded to the Finalist with the next highest score based on the judging criteria above as determined by the Sponsors in their sole discretion. Prizes won by minors will be awarded in the name of their parent or legal guardian.
CONDITIONS: By entering the Contest, each entrant (or parent/legal guardian on behalf of each entrant) agrees for entrant and for entrant’s heirs, executors, and administrators (a) to release and hold harmless Contest Entities and their respective officers, directors, and employees (collectively, “Released Parties”) from any liability, illness, injury, death, loss, litigation, or damage that may occur, directly or indirectly, whether caused by negligence or not, from such entrant’s participation in the Contest and/or his/her acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of the prize or any portion thereof (including any travel related thereto); (b) to indemnify Released Parties from any and all liability resulting or arising from the Contest and to hereby acknowledge that Released Parties have neither made nor are in any manner responsible or liable for any warranty, representation, or guarantee, express or implied, in fact or in law, relative to prize, including express warranties provided exclusively by Prize supplier that are sent along with Prize; (c) if selected as a winner, to the posting of such entrant’s name on www.nbcwashington.com and the use by Released Parties of such name, voice, image, and/or likeness for publicity, promotional, and advertising purposes in any and all media now or hereafter known, throughout the world in perpetuity, without additional compensation, notification, permission, or approval, and, upon request, to the giving of consent (by parent or legal guardian if necessary), in writing, to such use; and (d) to be bound by these Official Rules and to waive any right to claim any ambiguity or error therein or in the Contest itself, and to be bound by all decisions of the Sponsors and Judges, whose decisions are binding and final. Failure to comply with these conditions may result in disqualification from the Contest at Sponsors’ sole discretion.
ADDITIONAL TERMS: Sponsors reserve the right to terminate the Contest or permanently disqualify from any promotion any person they believe has intentionally violated these Official Rules. Any attempt to deliberately damage the Contest or operation thereof is unlawful and subject to legal action by Sponsors, who may seek damages to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsors reserve the right in their sole discretion to cancel or modify the Contest should any computer virus, malfunction, or other cause beyond their control corrupt the administration, security, or proper operation thereof. In the event of cancellation, prizes will be awarded, based on the judging criteria listed above, from among all eligible, non-suspect Entries received prior to the event requiring cancellation. Notice of cancellation will be posted at ww.nbcwashington.com.
The failure of Sponsors to comply with any provision of these Official Rules due to an act of God, hurricane, war, fire, riot, earthquake, terrorism, act of public enemies, actions of governmental authorities outside of the control of Sponsors (excepting compliance with applicable codes and regulations), or other “force majeure” event will not be considered a breach of these Official Rules.
Released Parties assume no responsibility for any injury or damage to entrants’ or to any other person’s computer relating to or resulting from entering or downloading materials or software in connection with the Contest. Released Parties are not responsible for telecommunications, network, electronic, technical, or computer failures of any kind; for inaccurate transcription of entry information; for errors in any promotional or marketing materials or in these Official Rules; for any human or electronic error; or for Entries that are stolen, misdirected, garbled, delayed, lost, late, damaged, returned postage due, or illegible.
DISPUTES: The Contest is governed by, and will be construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, and the forum and venue for any dispute shall be in New York, New York. If THE controversy or claim is not otherwise resolved through direct discussions or mediation, it shall THEN be resolved by FINAL AND binding arbitration administered by JUDICIAL ARBITRATION AND MEDIATION SERVICES, INC., in accordance with its Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures or subsequent versions thereof (“JAMS Rules”). The JAMS Rules for selection of an arbitrator shall be followed, except that the arbitrator shall be experienced and licensed to practice law in new york. All proceedings brought pursuant to this paragraph will be conducted in the County of new york. THE REMEDY FOR ANY CLAIM SHALL BE LIMITED TO ACTUAL DAMAGES, AND IN NO EVENT SHALL ANY PARTY BE ENTITLED TO RECOVER PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING ATTORNEY’S FEES OR OTHER SUCH RELATED COSTS OF BRINGING A CLAIM, OR TO RESCIND THIS AGREEMENT OR SEEK INJUNCTIVE OR ANY OTHER EQUITABLE RELIEF.
WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT: For the names of the winners, available after September 20, 2010, visit www.nbcwashington.com or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to be received by October 27, 2010, to: Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest, WRC, 4001 Nebraska Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20016.
