LCL Great Gardening Contest

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.

 The entry period for the Living the Country Life Great Gardening Contest begins October 19, 2009, and ends December 8, 2009.  Entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. CT on December 8, 2009. Entries become the property of Meredith Corporation, 1716 Locust St., Des Moines, IA (“Sponsor”) and will not be acknowledged or returned. Entrants must have Internet access and photo uploading capabilities prior to October 19, 2009 to enter.

ENTRY:    Visit www.livingthecountrylife.com/photos and click on the link to enter the Contest.  Complete the registration form, and then follow the links and instructions to upload up to six (6) photos of one garden, in one (1) album, displaying the beauty, health and uniqueness of the flowers and produce from your 2009 growing season. Photos must be taken by entrant, unpublished and may not have won any prize or award. Photos may depict entrant and/or entrant’s immediate family members with their permission, but must not include other people. Photos must be .jpeg or .bmp image formats and cannot exceed 3 MB.  Multiple entries of different gardenswill be accepted (one album is one entry) but the same photo should not appear in more than one entry/album. One garden per album and one album is one entry.

Photos must not contain material that violates or infringes the rights of another, including but not limited to privacy, publicity or intellectual property rights, or that constitutes copyright infringement.  Photos must not contain brand names or trademarks. 

ELIGIBILITY: Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, 18 years or older, who are the owner of the garden depicted in the photo(s).  Employees of Meredith Corporation d/b/a Living the Country Life magazine, 1716 Locust Ave, Des Moines, IA, 50309 (“Sponsor”), and any other organizations affiliated with the sponsorship, fulfillment, administration, prize support, advertisement or promotion of the contest and/or their respective agents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and members of their immediate families or persons residing at the same address are not eligible. 

 JUDGING:

THERE WILL BE TWO ROUNDS OF JUDGING: 

First Round: On or about December 9, 2009, a qualified panel of judges will judge eligible entries and six (6) Finalists will be selected on the basis of beauty of the flowers/produce as portrayed in the photo (60%), aesthetic appeal of the flowers/produce (20%) and uniqueness of the flowers and produce (20%). In the event of a tie, the entry among the tied entries with the highest score in the criterion of beauty of the flowers/produce will be a Finalist.  Sponsor reserves the right to select fewer than six (6) Finalists if, in it sole discretion, it does not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified entries.

Second Round: From December 17, 2009, through 11:59 p.m. CT on January 19, 2010, one (1) photograph from each of the Finalist entries will be displayed on the contest website and visitors to the contest website may vote for their favorite Finalist entries.  For entries of galleries containing more than one photo, only the first photo uploaded into the gallery by the entrant, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, will be displayed for voting purposes.  One vote per person, per valid e-mail address per day.  One (1) Finalist entry with the highest number of votes at the end of the Second Round will be the grand prize winner.  In the event of a tie in the Second Round, the entry from among the tied entries that had the highest score in the criterion of beauty of the flowers/produce in the First Round will be the grand prize winner.  Decisions of judges are final and binding in all respects.  Results are unofficial until verified by Sponsor.

PRIZES:

Six (6) Finalist Prizes:  The six (6) Finalists photo(s) may be featured in a future issue of Living the Country Life magazine. There is no approximate retail value associated with this prize.

 One (1) Grand Prize: The grand prize winner will receive a $100 readershopping.com voucher, and photo(s) may be featured in a future issue of Living the Country Life magazine and/or on livingthecountrylife.com. Appearance in Living the Country Life or on livingthecountrylife.com is subject to availability.  Sponsor is not responsible for any circumstances that make it impractical or impossible to fulfill this element of the prize. This element of the prize has no approximate retail value, and if it becomes impractical or impossible to fulfill this element, Sponsor’s only obligation will be to provide the remainder of the prize.

Potential winners will be notified by phone and/or mail and the prizes delivered approximately thirty (30) days from date of winner verification. Voucher subject to issuer restrictions.  Sponsor reserves the right to substitute prizes (or portions thereof) of equal or greater value if prizes (or portions thereof) cannot be awarded as described. Sponsor will determine all elements of prizing in its sole discretion. Prizes may not be assigned, transferred, changed or redeemed for cash, except at the sole discretion of Sponsor.   Prizes are awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee express or implied. Sponsor disclaims all and any liability for the actual provision, quality or nature of any third party product or service accepted by the winners. The awarding of any prize is contingent upon full compliance with these Official Rules.  Entrants agree to be bound by Official Rules and agree that if any winner fails to provide proof of identity, refuses to provide required affidavit, is found to have violated the Official Rules or otherwise does not meet eligibility criteria, prize will be forfeited and awarded to the entry with the next highest score. Entrants understand that Sponsor is not liable for injuries, losses or damages of any kind arising from participation in this promotion and acceptance, possession and use of prize. Sponsor is not responsible for any typographical or other error in the printing of the offer, administration of the contest or in the announcement of the prize. Decisions of Sponsor are final and binding in all respects.

PRIVACY:  Registration for Sponsor’s livingthecountrylife.com website is required to enter the Sweepstakes.  When you register, we collect personally identifying information about you, including your name, mailing address, and email address.  The information that you provide will be added to a centralized Sponsor database so that you will simultaneously be registered for Sponsor’s other websites as well.  By entering and providing the required registration information, you acknowledge that Sponsor may send you information, samples, or special offers it believes may be of interest to you about its publications or other complementary goods offered by Sponsor.  Sponsor may also include your name and postal address in postal address lists that Sponsor sells or rents to third parties for marketing purposes.  For more information about how Sponsor uses the information you provide, see Sponsor’s privacy policy at www.livingthecountrylife.com.  IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO SHARE YOUR INFORMATION, PLEASE DO NOT ENTER THIS PROMOTION.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION:  Except where prohibited, by participating Contest entrants agree that:  All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of participant(s) and Sponsor and its agents shall be governed by and construed exclusively in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law of any jurisdiction. Entrant agrees that any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to this Contest, or awarding of the prizes, shall be filed only in the state or federal courts located in the State of New York and entrant hereby consents and submits to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purposes of litigating any such action. Except where prohibited, by participating in this Contest, entrant agrees that: (a) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest, or awarding of the prizes, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; and (b) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with participating in this Contest but in no event attorneys' fees; and (c) under no circumstances will any participant be permitted to obtain awards for and hereby waives all rights to claim 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. Some jurisdictions do not allow the limitations or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages, so the above may not apply to you.

OTHER:  Sponsor assumes no responsibility for entries it is unable to process due to network, hardware or other technical failures; or any other reason, or incomplete, damaged, misdirected, stolen or lost entries.  Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion to disqualify any person tampering with the entry process, the operation of the web site or otherwise in violation of the rules. Sponsor further reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate or modify this promotion if not capable of completion as planned, including infection by computer virus, technical corruption, non-authorized human intervention or force majeure, or any other causes beyond the control of the Sponsor which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, or integrity of the sweepstakes. In the event of cancellation, Sponsor reserves the right to select winners from among all eligible entries received prior to date of cancellation.  The use of automated entry systems or any other conduct that impedes the integrity of the contest is prohibited.  In the event of a dispute regarding online entry, entry will be deemed made by the holder of an established e-mail account associated with the entry.

GENERAL:   By entering, entrants authorize the Sponsor to use their name, voice, likeness, biographical data, city and state of residence and entry materials in promotional material and for advertising, public relations and editorial purposes worldwide, in any media, in perpetuity, or on a winners’ list, if applicable, without further compensation unless prohibited by law.  Sponsor is not obligated to use any of the above-mentioned information or materials, but may do so and may edit such information or materials, at Sponsor’s sole discretion, without further obligation or compensation.

 Except where prohibited by law, potential winners will be required to complete and return an Affidavit of Eligibility/Ownership/Liability Release, Publicity Release and License of Pre-existing Work within ten (10) days of notification or the entry with the next highest score may become an alternate winner. If winner notification is returned as undeliverable, the entry with the next highest score may become an alternate winner.  By participating and winning a prize, winners release Sponsor, and its parents, affiliates, subsidiaries and agencies and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents from any and all liability with respect to the prize won and participation in the contest.  Subject to all U.S. federal, state and local laws and regulations.  Void where prohibited.  Taxes on prizes are the sole responsibility of the winners. The Finalists’ names will be posted on www.livingthecountrylife.com after December 17, 2009. The grand prize winner’s name will be posted after February 15, 2010.