2021 dvm360®/VHMA Practice Manager of the Year contest: Official rules

Official rules for the 2021 dvm360®/VHMA Practice Manager of the Year contest

ELIGIBILITY FOR ENTRY AND NOMINATION: The dvm360®/VHMA Practice Manager of the Year contest (“Program”) is open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia (“Territory”), who are at least 18 years of age or older and the manager of a veterinary hospital located within the Territory (each, an “Entrant”). Entries and nominations will be accepted from individuals, age 18 or older, who are legal residents of the Territory (“Entry”). Employees of MultiMedia Animal Care, LLC, and its respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, vendors, advertising and promotion agencies, or any other individual or company involved in the development or execution of the Program (collectively, the “Promotion Parties”), and members of their immediate families (parent, child, sibling, and their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside) and same households, whether or not related, are not eligible to submit an Entry (as defined below), submit a Nomination (as defined below), or win. Entrants may be referred to herein individually and collectively as “Participants.” Participants are responsible for complying with any company/employer policies associated with participating in programs of this nature.

PROGRAM ENTRY AND NOMINATION DATES: The Program begins at 9 A.M. Eastern Time (“ET”) on February 5, 2021, and ends at 11:59 P.M. ET on April 15, 2021 (“Entry Period”).

HOW TO SUBMIT A NOMINATION: To nominate a practice manager, click here (“Website”) and follow all onscreen instructions to complete and submit the Nomination Form. Following submission of a Nomination, the Nominee must then submit their Entry for official consideration in Round 1 of judging. Nominations without corresponding Entries will not be considered.

HOW TO NOMINATE YOURSELF/SUBMIT AN ENTRY: Click here (“Website”) and follow all onscreen instructions to complete and submit the Entry Form.

ENTRY SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: There is no limit on the number of Nominations someone can submit or receive. In the event more than one Nomination for any Entrant is submitted, the Entrant will only be considered in Round 1 once.

Incomplete Entries, as well as Nominations without corresponding Entries, are not eligible and will not be judged. Entries (i) must be original work and solely written by Entrant, and Entrant must have an unrestricted right to submit the material, (ii) must not have been previously published or have won any other awards and (iii) must not defame or violate the right of any third party, living or deceased, or entity, including without limitation publicity or any privacy rights.

Any Entrant whose work includes elements not owned by Entrant, including without limitation, quotes and copyrighted and trademarked materials, is responsible for obtaining, prior to submission of the Entry, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit the use and exhibition of the Entry by Host in the manner set forth herein. Host reserves the right to request proof of these permissions in a form acceptable to Host from any Entrant at any time. Failure to provide such proof may, if requested, render Entry null and void.

Entries may not include profanity, sexually explicit or suggestive content, or content that (i) is violent or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional, or age group, or otherwise inappropriate content, as determined by the judges and/or Host in their sole discretion, (ii) defames, misrepresents or contains disparaging remarks about Promotion Parties or their respective products or services, or other people or companies; (iii) contains trademarks, logos, or trade dress (such as distinctive packaging or building exteriors/interiors) owned by others, without permission, to the extent permission is necessary; (iv) contains copyrighted materials owned by others (including photographs, sculptures, paintings, and other works of art or images published on or in websites, television, movies or other media), without permission, to the extent permission is necessary; (v) contains materials embodying the names, likenesses, voices, or other indicia identifying any person, as well as addresses, email addresses, and licenses plates, including, without limitation, celebrities and/or other public or private figures, living or dead, without permission; (vi) contains look-alikes of celebrities or other public or private figures, living or dead; and/or (vii) violates any law. Host reserves the right at their sole discretion to disqualify any Entry that it believes fails to comply with any provision of these Official Rules. Modifying, enhancing or altering a third party's pre-existing work does not qualify as Entrant's own original work. By entering, Host reserves the right to disqualify any Participant (or Award Recipient) for failing to execute any required paperwork or who engages in any activity which offends the public morals, embarrasses Host or who violates the law of any jurisdiction. Entries will not be acknowledged. Decisions of Host and its agents on any and all matters pertaining to the Program shall be final and binding.

By submitting an Entry, Entrant represents that the Entry conforms to these Official Rules and understands that Host, in its sole discretion, may disqualify the Entry for any reason, including if it determines, in its sole discretion, that the Entry fails to conform to these Official Rules in any way or otherwise contains unacceptable content as determined by Host, in its sole discretion.

GRANT OF RIGHTS: Participant acknowledges and agrees that once submitted, the Entry may be posted on the Website, social networking sites and any websites controlled or operated by Host or Sponsor or their affiliates, divisions or subsidiaries. Whether a submitted Entry is ever used or posted by Host or Sponsor on the Website or any social media site or otherwise presented for viewing by the public is in their sole and absolute discretion.By submitting an Entry, Participant agrees and hereby grants to licensees and assigns an unlimited, perpetual, irrevocable, assignable, royalty-free, fully paid-up license to reproduce, distribute, perform, create derivative works of, edit, alter, display, exhibit, combine with other materials, exploit, and otherwise use the Entry, and all elements embodied therein, including the names and likenesses of any person embodied therein, in any manner and in any and all media now known or hereafter devised throughout the universe for any purpose whatsoever, including, without limitation, for commercial purposes, without compensation or notification to, or permission from, Participant or any third party and hereby waives any moral rights in the Entry.

Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Participant agrees that the Released Parties (as defined below) are not responsible for any unauthorized use of Entries by third parties and that the Released Parties will have no obligation to make any use whatsoever of the Entry and they may cease using any Entry for any reason or for no reason at any time in their sole discretion.

JUDGING:

ROUND 1: All eligible Entries received will be judged by Host personnel (collectively “Initial Judges”) using the following equally weighted judging criteria: leadership and decision-making (10 points), team motivation and management (10 points), lifelong learning (10 points), and adapting to change (10 points). The top ten (10) Entrants will advance to Round 2 as “Finalists” (subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with these Terms and Conditions).

ROUND 2: Finalists will be judged by a second judging panel composed of qualified industry professional judges to determine the Award Recipient. In the event of a tie in Round 2, the Entry (from among the tied Entries), an additional tie-breaking judge will determine the Finalist(s) or Award Recipient (as applicable) using the Judging Criteria. Host reserves the right to select fewer Finalists or not select an Award Recipient if, in its sole discretion, it does not receive any eligible and qualified Entries. Any award will be provided to the Entrant.

FINALIST NOTIFICATION: The winner will be notified by mail, telephone and/or email and announced at a Fetch dvm360® conference in May or June 2021. Finalists are not required to attend this conference. Potential Finalists may be required to execute, notarize, and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Release of Liability and a Publicity Release and a W-9 Miscellaneous Form ("Notification Documents") so they are received by Host within five (5) days of date printed on notification or such Finalist may be disqualified and the Entrant with the next-highest score will be declared the alternate Finalist. If a Finalist cannot be contacted within a reasonable time period, does not respond within the specified time period in the initial notification, cannot continue in the Program for any reason, has not complied with these Terms and Conditions, has failed to execute and return all or a portion of the Notification Documents within the specified time period, has made false statements or a notification is returned as undeliverable, such Finalist will be disqualified and, time permitting and at Host's sole discretion, the Entry with the next-highest score may be declared the alternate Finalist. At the discretion of Host, each potential Finalist will be required to submit to a background check of any and all records of potential Finalist, including, without limitation, civil and criminal court records and police reports, and entry in the Program constitutes potential Finalist's permission for Host to conduct such background check, provided that, to the extent additional authorization is necessary under law, potential Finalist shall authorize such background check. Host reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any potential Finalist who fails to authorize such check or if, based on the results of the background check, Host determines in its sole discretion that such potential Finalist might reflect negatively on Host or the Program.

PUBLICITY GRANT: Winning constitutes permission (except where prohibited by law) to use each Finalist's (including the Finalist that is determined the Award Recipient) name, Entry, hometown, likeness, award won (if Entrant), statements, and photograph (all at Host's discretion) for future advertising, publicity in any and all media (including online posting) now or hereafter devised throughout the world in perpetuity, in any manner, without additional compensation or notification to, or permission from Finalist.

AWARD RECIPIENT NOTIFICATION: The Finalist who is determined to be the Award Recipient will be notified by email, telephone and/or mail prior to June 5, 2021 and announced at a Fetch dvm360® conference in June or July 2021.

AWARD: Award Recipient will receive the following:

> Given by MultiMedia Animal Care, LLC:

Complimentary registration to an MJH conference of their choice. One-year appointment to the dvm360® Editorial Advisory Board. Plaque naming them as Promotion winner

> Given by Veterinary Hospital Managers Association:

One-year membership to VHMA. If winner is already a member, their 2021 dues will be reimbursed. Complimentary registration to the 2021 VHMA Annual Meeting & Conference. Up to $1,250 stipend for travel/lodging/meals for the 2021 VHMA Annual Meeting & Conference (receipt reimbursement).

Award Recipient must be able to attend the VHMA event and travel on dates determined by Host. Award Recipient is responsible for all federal, state, and local taxes as well as all costs and expenses associated with award acceptance and use not specified by Host as being provided. Award is provided “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied. Award cannot be transferable and must be accepted as awarded. Award Recipient may not request cash or other substitution; however, the Host reserves the right to substitute an award (or portion thereof) with another award of comparable or greater value, in its sole discretion.

RELEASE: By entering, this Program, Participant agrees for Participant and for Participant’s heirs, executors, and administrators (a) to release and hold harmless Multimedia Animal Care, LLC, Nationwide, Inc., , LLC,Facebook, Inc., and Twitter, Inc.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 Participant’s participation in the Program and/or his/her acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of any prize or any portion thereof; (b) 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, with respect to any prize, including, without limitation, to such prize’s quality or fitness for a particular purpose; and (c) to be bound by these Official Rules and to waive any right to claim any ambiguity or error therein or in the Program itself, and to be bound by all decisions of the Host, which are binding and final.Failure to comply with these conditions may result in disqualification from the Program at Host’s sole discretion.Host reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Program, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Host’s reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Program, as determined by Host in its sole discretion.Host makes no warranties, and hereby disclaims any and all warranties, express or implied, concerning any prize furnished in connection with the Program. WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, SUCH PRIZES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND SPONSOR HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL SUCH WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND/OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

GENERAL: Released Parties are not responsible for problems uploading or downloading any Program-related information from the Website or for any other technical malfunctions of electronic equipment, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer hardware or software failures, phone lines, failure of any Entry to be received by Host on account of technical problems, traffic, congestion on the internet or the Website, or any other technical problems related to Entries including telecommunication miscommunication or failure, and failed, lost, delayed, incomplete, garbled, or misdirected communications which may limit a Participant's ability to participate in this Program or other errors or difficulties of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic, computer, network, typographical, printing, or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Program, including, without limitation, errors or difficulties which may occur in connection with the administration of the Program, the processing or judging of Entries, the announcement of the awards, the incorrect uploading of the Entry or in any Program-related materials. Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Program. Released Parties are not responsible for injury or damage to any person's computer related to or resulting from participating in this Program or downloading materials from or use of the website. Persons who tamper with or abuse any aspect of the Program or website, who act in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner or who are in violation of these Terms and Conditions, as solely determined by Sponsor, will be disqualified and all associated Entries will be void. Mass Entries or Entries generated by a script, robot, macro, or use of automated devices or any other means that subverts the entry process will be disqualified. Host reserves the right to modify, suspend, or terminate the Program in the event it becomes infected by a computer virus or is otherwise technically impaired, and to cancel or suspend the Program in its entirety should tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or other causes corrupt the administration, security, fairness, or integrity of the Program.

Any attempt by an individual to deliberately damage any website or undermine the legitimate operations of the Program is a violation of criminal and civil laws. Should such an attempt be made, the Host reserves the right to seek damages (including attorneys' fees) and other legal remedies from any such individual to the fullest extent permitted by law and, if applicable, to disqualify such Participant from the Program.

DISPUTES: This Program is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Issues concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules shall be governed by the laws of the State of New Jersey, without regard to any principles of conflict of laws. All disputes arising out of or connected with this Promotion will be resolved individually, and without resort to class action, exclusively by a state or federal court located in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Should there be a conflict between the laws of the State of New Jersey and any other laws, the conflict will be resolved in favor of the laws of the State of New Jersey.To the extent permitted by applicable law, all judgments or awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket damages (excluding attorneys’ fees) associated with participation in this Promotion and shall not include any indirect, punitive, incidental and/or consequential damages.

PERSONAL INFORMATION: Information collected from Participants is subject to Host's Privacy Policy, available at www.dvm360.com, and will be used by Host in accordance with its privacy policy.

CONTACT: The host or sponsor of this Program is Multimedia Animal Care, LLC, 2 Clarke Drive Suite 100, Cranbury, New Jersey 08512.