1. Entries for The 2020 Leader of the Pack Cutest Pet Contest must be submitted online through the Leader of the Pack registration page at http://athensmessenger.upickem.net/engine/YourSubmission.aspx?contestid=619970. Complete the entry form and upload a photo. Finish by clicking the “SUBMIT” button. Entries: Fees for approved and verified photo entries are non-cancellable and non-refundable. All online payments will go through our Administrator U-pickem. Any charges incurred will show up as SSM*AthensMessenger on your statement. Employees of APG Media and associated newspapers, and their immediate family members are not eligible to win.

Only digital photos are accepted and must be submitted online through the contest site. All entries will be posted on the contest website as they are received. Entries with incomplete or incorrect information will not be accepted.  

2. Copyrights: Entering the contest authorizes APG Media of Ohio to place the animal’s name and photo, along with the owner’s name, on the contest website and in the Pet Calendar supplement. 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.

3. Voting: Voting is open to the general public, limited to persons 18 years of age or older. Each vote has a charge of 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 completed in three rounds. The first round of voting will begin at 12:00 p.m. (EDT) April 3, 2020 and conclude at 11:59 a.m. April 9, 2020. Votes must be submitted online. 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 at 12:00 p.m. on April 10, 2020 and ends at 11:59 a.m. April 16, 2020. Votes must be submitted online. 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 12:00 p.m. on April 17 and end at 11:59 p.m. on April 23, 2020. Entries must be submitted online.

Votes must be cast online at http://athensmessenger.upickem.net/engine/Votes.aspx?PageType=VOTING&contestid=619970 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. All online payments will go through our Administrator Upickem. 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.

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

5. Prizes:  One Grand Prize winner will receive $200. The second place winner will be awarded $100. The third place winner will be awarded $50.

6. 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 April 30, 2020 via email and/or telephone number provided on the winner’s entry form. Results are not final until all voting transactions have been approved. Acceptance of any prize constitutes the 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 owner may be required. Winners are solely responsible for reporting and payment of any taxes due on prizes.

7. Participation: The 2020 Leader of the Pack is sponsored by APG Media. Entrants agree that all decisions of APG Media regarding the selection of winners and all other aspects of the contest shall be final and binding. APG Media reserves the right to disqualify persons found tampering with or otherwise abusing any aspect of this contest.

8. Privacy: As part of the registration process, End User will provide certain personal information to APG Media. Except as provided herein, APG Media agrees to use the End User individualized information only for internal purposes. APG Media may, however, provide the End User information, in an aggregate form with the information of other End Users, to third parties, but only in such a way that the End User’s individual privacy is protected. APG Media may contact End User periodically to provide him/her with news, other information, or offers which it believes would be of interest to him/her. Opt-out mechanisms are available if End User prefers not to provide his/her information to third parties. All uses of End User information will be in accordance with the provisions of APG Media’s Privacy Policy.

9. Indemnification: APG Media 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 APG Media. 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, APG Media reserves the right to suspend, modify or terminate the 2020 Leader of the Pack contest. APG Media 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 call 740.592.6612 ext. 301183.