The Herald “Best of the Beasts” Official Contest Rules

The Herald proudly announces the “2024 Best of the Beasts” Contest.

Take a photo of your pet and submit it to The Herald to be part of the 2024 Best of the Beast contest. Photos will appear online and in print. Proceeds from voting will benefit the Newspapers in Education (NIE) program. The top 3 photos will receive prizes.

1. Eligibility

All photos submitted must be of pets. No other animal photos will be accepted. Employees and contractors of The Herald, and its parent company CNHI, LLC, and their immediate families are prohibited from entering the contest or winning a prize, but may vote in the contest.

2. Photo Submission Period       

All entries must be received by 4pm (ET) Friday, March 29th, 2024. The Herald is not responsible for late, lost, misdirected, or illegible entries.

 3. Submitting Photos

Photos can be submitted online at www.sharonheraldnie.com/meow-madness in JPG format at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. Photos may be submitted in person and scanned at The Herald offices at 52 S Dock St, Sharon PA, during regular business hours (8am to 5pm, Monday through Friday). Photos must be accompanied by a fully completed submission form

By submitting a photo, contest entrant authorizes The Herald to publish the photo along with accompanying name and other information, and hereby agrees to the official rules. The Herald reserves the right to crop any photo for use in contest as seen fit.  Your photo may be published in affiliated publications of The Herald.

4. Photo Content Restrictions:

Photographs must NOT contain any of the following:

·         Nudity, lewd or vulgar behavior.

·         Material that violates or infringes another’s rights, including but not limited to privacy, publicity or intellectual property rights, including but not limited to copyright infringement.

·         Brand names or trademarks.

·         Photos of artwork without proper license or ownership.   

·         Material that is hateful, tortuous, defamatory, slanderous or libelous.

·         Material that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age.

·         Material that is unlawful, in violation of, or contrary to the laws or regulations in any state where the Photograph is created.

        Failure of any Photograph to comply with the above restrictions (collectively, the “Content Restrictions”), as determined by The Herald in its sole discretion, shall result in disqualification. The Herald has the right to refuse any photo without explanation, and all decisions by The Herald are considered final.

5. Voting Period:

        Voting Period -- Voting will begin on Wednesday, April 24th, 2024. There will be seven rounds of voting as follows:

·         Round 1, 8am 04/24/24 to 2pm 05/06/24: To determine initial bracket of 16 pet entries.

·         Round of 16, 8am 05/10/24 to 2pm 5/16/24

·         Round of 8, 8am 5/17/24 to 2pm 5/23/24

·         The Championship Round, 8am 5/24/24 to 2pm 5/29/24

Dates above are tentative; in the event of a tie, voting will continue until ties are resolved. Votes from previous rounds carry over into the following rounds. The top three vote getters at the end of the Championship Round will be declared the winners of the three prizes to be awarded.

Each vote in each round will be charged at a rate of $1 per vote. A $1 minimum is required. You may vote as many times and for as many photos as you wish. You may view all photos and vote totals or cast your votes by going online to sharonheraldnie.com/meow-madness. Proceeds from voting will benefit the Herald Newspapers in Education program.

        6. How to Vote:

        Online voting

        Votes may be cast by going to sharonheraldnie.com/meow-madness. Online voting is limited to persons 18 years of age or older. There is a minimum of $1.00 for online voting. Online votes may be submitted using a valid credit card through Papal. You do not have to have a PayPal account to use your credit card. All authorized credit card transactions cannot be cancelled and are non-refundable. If your credit card is declined for any reason, no vote will be submitted on your behalf. Your computer must accept cookies, or any successor or similar technology which may be used for the purpose of entry tracking. Ad blocking software on your computer needs to be disabled so it doesn’t interfere with processing your online entry or ballot.

        Mail-in and Drop-off Voting

        Voting ballots are available at the front office of The Herald located at 52 S Dock St, Sharon, from 8:00AM to 5:00PM, Monday through Friday. Ballots can be turned in at this location or mailed to the following address:

“Meow Madness Contest”

The Herald

PO BOX 51

Sharon PA 16146

      There is a $1 vote minimum per ballot for mail-in or drop-off ballots.  Your monetary check can be made out to: The Herald NIE.  Cash will not be accepted for mail-in votes. Mail-in votes must be received before the end of the voting period and votes received after the voting period ends will be returned to sender.

      Readers, friends, and relatives can cast votes for their favorite photo. Votes will be updated manually after 5pm on business days and will not appear immediately when votes are cast. Please allow delivery and processing time.

7. Prizes

        The winning photo, runner-up, and 3rd place will receive prizes or gift cards from local merchants. Winners will be announced online and in The Herald on Friday, May 31, 2024.

  8. Disclaimer and Indemnification:

    By participating, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of The Herald. The Herald reserves the right to disqualify persons found tampering with or otherwise abusing any aspect of this contest as solely determined by The Herald. The decisions of The Herald regarding the selection of winners and all other aspects of the contest shall be final and binding in all aspects.