MONTANA HOME ESSAY CONTEST RULES
The following rules and regulations govern participation in the Montana Home Essay Contest
("Contest") conducted by Montana Home Essay Contest, LLC, a Montan limited liability
company ("MHEC"). The Contest is a game of skill whereby participants submit an essay that is
judged according to the criteria listed below and the winner receives a home in the beautiful
Tobacco Valley of northwest Montana. All participants must sign and submit an entry form,
agreeing to the following rules and regulations, as a condition to enter the Contest. MHEC's
interpretation and application of these rules and regulations shall be final.
1. Retain a copy of these Contest rules and regulations for your records.
2. Attach your essay and Entry Fee, described below, securely to the entry form.
3. Mail your essay, Entry Fee, and entry form to:
Montana Home Essay Contest
PO Box 370
Eureka, MT 59917
4. Subject – “If You Could Make One Change in the World, What Would it be?”
5. Prize. The winner of the Contest will receive a home and surrounding 5 acres of property
in Lincoln County, Montana.
6. Eligibility. All persons world-wide eighteen (18) years or older may enter. However, the
Contest judges, owners of the Home ("Owners"), members of MHEC, Contest sponsors,
and all employees, agents, consultants, attorneys, accountants, and family members of the
foregoing are excluded from participating in the Contest and are not eligible to win the
Home. An affidavit of eligibility that includes a valid social security number will be
required from the Contest winner. The same person may submit multiple entries so long
as each entry contains a separate and distinct original essay, separate Entry Fee, separate
entry form, and two additional self-addressed stamped envelopes. Entry forms must
contain the name of only one participant, the author of the essay, and participants may
not assign their entry to other persons. MHEC reserves the right to reject any entry
form that is incomplete, illegible, defective or physically altered.
7. Contest Entry Fee and Refunds. Each entry must be accompanied by a money order or
bank cashier's check in the amount of one hundred and ninety-nine U.S. dollars ($199.00)
("Entry Fee") payable to: Montana Home Essay Contest. All entries containing the
Entry Fee will be accepted regardless of whether the essay itself meets the technical
judging requirements described herein. However, MHEC reserves the right to reject any
entry that is submitted with payment that does not constitute "good funds." Do not mail
cash. No refunds will be issued for non-compliance with the technical judging
requirements or for any reason whatsoever unless a sufficient number of Contest entries
(as determined by MHEC) are not received by midnight on December 31, 2016 (the
"Deadline"). In that event, all Entry Fees will be refunded. Should a refund of the Entry
Fee become necessary, each participant will receive a refund of only the Entry Free
($199.00) and no interest. All Entry Fees will be held in a MHEC escrow account until a
determination has been made regarding receipt of a sufficient number of entries to
proceed with the contest.
8. Judges. The Owners will select the top 25 essays. These 25 essays will be judged by an
independent panel of five (5) neutral judges with a variety of backgrounds and
experiences, including former education professionals. The judges will not be related to
the Owners, Contest sponsors, members of MHEC, their employees, or agents, nor will
the judges have any vested interest in the Home. The names of the judges shall not be
released except to appropriate government authorities.
9. Judging Criteria. The Contest is a game of skill, not chance. The Owners and the judges
will evaluate each essay properly submitted with a signed entry form and Entry Fee as
described herein. Each essay that meets the technical requirements described in section
10 will be judged on the basis of the structure of the essay (introduction, body, and
conclusion), creativity, originality, passion for …., ability to thoroughly convey your idea
in 1,000 words or less,
10. Technical Requirements. Each entry shall: 1) consist of a formal essay of 1,000 words or
less in English; 2) be typed, computer printed, or legibly hand written and double spaced;
3) use one side of white 8½" by 11" paper; 4) not include the participant's name, address,
or any identifying information; 5) have the essay securely attached to the entry form and
Entry Fee; 6) include two (2) self-addressed stamped envelopes, which shall be used first
for acknowledging receipt of the entry, and a second for releasing the name of the winner
or a refund if the contest does not proceed as described in section 7 above.
11. Deadline for Determination of Winning Essay and Runners-Up: The winner will be
chosen on or before March 1, 2017 along with the First and Second Runners-Up, and will
be notified by phone, mail, and e-mail at the contact information provided on the entry
form. If the winner refuses in writing to accept the Home, it shall be awarded to the First
Runner-Up. Likewise, if the First Runner-Up refuses in writing to accept the Home, it
shall be awarded to the Second Runner-Up. Winners shall have ten (10) days from the
date of receiving notice that they have won the Contest to notify the Owner in writing
whether or not they will accept the Home.
12. Copyright and Publication. Participant's submission of an essay and signature on the
entry form constitutes an assignment to the Owners of all copyrights and intellectual
property associated with the essay arising under state and federal statutes or common law.
By entering the Contest, participants grant permission for Owners to publish all or part of
their essay, to use the participant's name and photograph, and to publicize the winning
entry and names of all final 25 essays, all without royalty or other consideration.
13. Applicable Laws. This Contest is subject to the provision of all applicable international,
federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Participation in the Contest is void where
prohibited. MHEC is not a tax exempt organization and the Entry Fee is not taxdeductible.
14. Release, Indemnification, and Limitation of Liability. By entering the Contest, each
participant releases the Owners, MHEC, its members, employees, agents and sponsors
from any and all liability for injuries, losses or damages of any kind caused by: (a)
participating in the Contest, (b) the participant’s failure to win the Home, (c) the
participant’s tax liabilities with respect to the participant’s award of, acceptance of, or use
of the Home as a prize; and (d) the participant’s possession, use or misuse of the Home.
Furthermore, each winner agrees to indemnify the Owners and MHEC from any and all
losses, damages, rights, claims and actions of any kind arising in connection with or as a
result of participating in the Contest or the winner’s acceptance or use of the Home as a
prize. A Contest participant's sole and exclusive remedy for MHEC's breach shall be
limited to the return of the Entry Fee.
15. Taxes and Fees. The ultimate winning participant who accepts the Home as a prize shall
be solely responsible for any and all taxes, legal fees, or other fees, unless specified
otherwise herein, arising out of successful participation in this Contest and conveyance of
the Home to the winner. Neither the Owners nor MHEC take any responsibility for the
Contest winner's tax liability. The Contest winner is solely responsible for timely paying
and reporting all taxes attributable to winning the Home. The Contest winner is
responsible for consulting a tax advisor, and is responsible for any resulting fees, in order
to determine what tax liability results from winning the Contest.
16. Description of Prize. The Owners will present the Contest winner with a warranty deed
conveying merchantable fee simple title to the Home free and clear of all liens and
encumbrances except reservations and exceptions in patents from the United States and
the State of Montana; existing easements and rights-of-way of record; all building, use,
zoning, sanitary and environmental restrictions of record; mineral and royalty
reservations or conveyances of record; timber harvesting restrictions; and real estate taxes
and assessments for 2016 and subsequent years. Owners will furnish to Buyer an owner's
policy of title insurance showing that the winner's title is free and clear of liens,
encumbrances, and title defects, excepting the usual printed exceptions contained in such
title insurance policies. The Owners make no representation as to the fair market value of
the Home.
17. Deadlines and Extensions. Contest entries must be postmarked on or before December
10, 2016 and must arrive by December 15, 2016. Responsibility for lost, late, or
misdirected entries rests with the participant. Any entry posted after the above deadline
will be returned to the participant. The judges will select a Contest winner by March 1,
2017. MHEC reserves the right to extend the deadlines for Contest entry and winner
selection by up to sixty (60) days each.
18. Miscellaneous. The winner agrees to accept the Home "as is" and in its present condition
and state of repair, and acknowledges that the Owners are making no warranties, express
or implied, with respect to the condition of the Home. The winner shall become
responsible for all property taxes for the Home and all utility and maintenance expenses
commonly associated with home ownership. If participants change their mailing address
during the Contest, participants must notify MHEC by mail of the new address and must
reference the entry number provided by MHEC with the entry receipt. Participants may
withdraw from the Contest by notifying MHEC in writing at the address provided;
however, no refund will be provided to withdrawing participants.
19. No Contact of Owners. Participants may not contact the Owners and may not enter the
Home or property surrounding the Home. Participants must direct all questions and
comments regarding the Contest and the Home to MHEC via its Facebook page at:
https://www.facebook.com/Montana-Home-Essay-Contest-936886623067061/ or its
website at: http://montanahomeessaycontest.com/. Participants who do not abide by this
rule will be disqualified
BY PARTICIPATING IN THE CONTEST, EACH PARTICIPANT ACKNOWLEDGES AND
AGREES THAT MHEC HAS THE RIGHT, IN ITS SOLE DISCRETION, TO ELECT NOT
TO PROCEED WITH THE CONTEST IF A SUFFICIENT NUMBER OF ENTRIES ARE NOT
RECEIVED, AND IN SUCH EVENT, A PARTICIPANT'S SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE
REMEDY SHALL BE TO RECEIVE A REFUND OF THE ENTRY FEE PAID BY SUCH
PARTICIPANT FOR EACH ESSAY AND ENTRY FORM SUBMITTED, WITHOUT
INTEREST.