Hometown Pride Official Rules | CHS Inc.
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Official Rules of Cenex® Hometown Pride 2.0

Eligibility: This Contest (as defined below) is open to CENEX® branded dealers, distributors and retailers. These Official Rules amend, restate and supersede any existing terms and conditions or official rules relating to the Contest. The individual making the submission on behalf of the entrant must be a legal resident of one of the 50 United States who is eighteen (18) years of age or older (or the age of majority in the state or jurisdiction of residence, whichever is greater) and have the authority to act on behalf of the entrant entity. For the purposes of these Official Rules, the Contest “entrant” will be considered the individual(s) submitting Entry information as well as the entity on whose behalf the individual(s) submit the information. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. ENTRANTS ARE SUBJECT TO ALL APPLICABLE FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL LAWS.  

 

Sponsor: The Contest is sponsored by CHS Inc. 5500 Cenex Drive, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55077. (“Sponsor”).

 

Agreement to Official Rules: By participating in this Cenex® Hometown Pride 2.0 December 1, 2021 – August 31, 2023 contest (the “Contest”), entrants agree to abide by the Official Rules thereof as established by Sponsor. Sponsor reserves the right to qualify all entries and to reject any entries that do not meet the requirements for participation as established by Sponsor.  

 

Contest Period: The Contest begins on December 6, 2021 at 10:00 AM CT and ends August 31, 2023 at 11:59 PM CT (the “Contest Period”). During the Contest Period there will be four entry periods (each, an “Entry Period”) as follows:

  • Entry Period 1 – December 6, 2021 at 10:00 AM CT – February 28, 2022 at 11:59 PM CT
  • Entry Period 2 – March 1, 2022 at 12:00 AM CT – May 31, 2022 at 11:59 PM CT
  • Entry Period 3 – June 1, 2022 at 12:00 AM CT – August 31, 2022 at 11:59 PM CT
  • Entry Period 4 – September 1, 2022 at 12:00 AM CT – November 30, 2022 at 11:59 PM CT
  • Entry Period 5 – December 1, 2022 at 12:00 AM CT – February 28, 2023 at 11:59 PM CT
  • Entry Period 6 – March 1, 2023 at 12:00 AM CT – May 31, 2023 at 11:59 PM CT

Entries received before or after the Entry Period are void. Sponsor’s computer is the official time-keeping device for the Contest.

 

How to Enter: During the Contest Period, go to https://cenexhub.com/Giving-Back/Hometown-Pride, complete the form of required questions with responses that share the story of a unique philanthropic group or endeavor that is serving your community (each, together with all other information or communications provided by entrant as part of the Contest, an “Entry”). All Entries must be truthful, honest and follow the Entry Guidelines below.

Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, damaged, delayed, incomplete, illegible, mutilated or misdirected Entries or Entries not received by the close of the Contest Period. Sponsor also assumes no responsibility for computer system, hardware, software or program malfunctions or other errors, failures, delayed computer transactions or network connections that are human or technical in nature, or for damaged, lost, late, illegible or misdirected entries; technical, hardware, software, electronic or telephone failures of any kind; lost or unavailable network connections; fraudulent, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmissions whether caused by Sponsor, the users, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in this Contest; or by any technical or human error that may occur in the processing of submissions or downloading that may limit, delay or prevent an entrant’s ability to participate in the Contest.  Sponsor reserves the right to revoke an Entry, at any time, if Sponsor, in its sole discretion, believes facts surrounding the Entry have materially changed or otherwise no longer support the Cenex® brand or Cenex® brand values (some examples may include, without limitation, locations ceasing to be Cenex® branded locations, the benefitting organization or entity dissolving or closing, or the initiative or tradition ceasing to exist).

Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion and without notice, to cancel, amend, alter, modify or suspend this Contest or the Official Rules and award the prizes from entries received up to the time of termination or suspension should causes beyond Sponsor’s control, including unauthorized human intervention, which, in the sole opinion of Sponsor, corrupt, compromise or materially affect the administration, fairness, security or proper play of the Contest or proper submission of entries. Sponsor is not liable for any loss, injury or damage caused, whether directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from downloading data or otherwise participating in this Contest

 

Entry Guidelines: Your Entry must include all requested information and your Entry must be original and in English. Participants may not copy or otherwise plagiarize an Entry from any source, nor may any Entry include third-party copyrighted material. Winners may be required to obtain and provide Sponsor with signed Sponsor-authorized consent(s) and release(s) form(s), as requested. Participants must possess all rights (e.g., copyright, publicity rights, privacy rights) associated with their Entries as needed to comply with these Official Rules. Participant agrees to indemnify Sponsor against any and all claims of infringement or violation of any third-party rights for any use by Sponsor of an Entry. If, in the sole discretion of Sponsor, an Entry constitutes copyright infringement or a violation of any other third party right or a violation of any ordinance, regulation, law, or these Official Rules, the Entry will be deemed ineligible.

All submitted materials must be consistent with the image and values of Sponsor and must not include: (a) any third parties, including but not limited to minors, celebrities, and friends, who have not expressly authorized entrant to display their image or likeness; (b) any content that violates any third-party rights, including, but not limited to, copyrights or trademark rights or rights of publicity or privacy; (c) defamatory language or threatening language; (d) language or content that is sexually explicit, obscene, or indecent; (e) language or content that promotes the consumption or abuse of alcohol, tobacco, or drugs; (f) any other language or content 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; (g) contain material that is threatening to any person, place, or business group; or (h) contain words or symbols that are widely considered offensive to individuals of a certain race, ethnicity, religion sexual orientation or socioeconomic group or that Sponsor determines is inappropriate in Sponsor’s sole discretion and/or does not otherwise meet the Submission requirements

If any Entr(ies), entrant(s) or submitted materials do not comply with any terms in these Official Rules in Sponsor’s sole discretion, Sponsor may disqualify the associated Entr(ies).

 

Confirmation of Rights: By submitting your Entry, you represent and warrant that your Entry does not infringe any intellectual property rights of any third party, violate the right of publicity/privacy of any individual or otherwise violate the rights of any third party.

 

Use of Entries: All Entries shall remain the property of the entrants, although entrants agree that by entering this Contest and submitting information and materials, they grant to Sponsor and its representatives acting on behalf of Sponsor, a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual right (sublicensable through multiple tiers) to edit, modify, cut, rearrange, add to, delete from, publish, copy, exhibit, transmit, perform, broadcast or otherwise use the Entry and/or any information and materials provided during the Entry process, specifically including without limitation the interview process by any means and in any media, whether now known or hereafter developed, for any and all purposes, without further review, notice, approval, consideration, or compensation. However, Sponsor has no obligation to use any Entries or submitted materials, whether from Winners or non-winning entrants. Entrants further agree that Sponsor and its representatives acting on behalf of Sponsor may use their name, likeness, image, photograph, statements, videos, voice, opinions and/or hometown and state for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, (collectively referred to as “Entrant Likeness”) without payment or consideration.  Entrant waives any right of privacy and/or publicity associated with Entrant Likeness and with any information, including, but not limited to personal information and the right to inspect or approve the finished product, including written or electronic copy, wherein the Entrant Likeness and/or personal information appears

 

Eligibility Determination and Interview Process: All Entries will be reviewed by Sponsor or its representatives acting on behalf of Sponsor to determine eligibility.  Upon confirmation of eligibility, up to 5 eligible Entries with the highest scores in the below criteria will proceed to be interviewed during the relevant Entry Period.  Interviews will be granted based on the highest scores in the following criteria:

i. Does the Entry meet Eligibility requirements?

ii. Did the Entry have all required information included?

iii. What level of public relations opportunity does this potentially bring to the Cenex® brand? (Ranked from 0-10 basis)

iv. What level of community impact does this effort provide to the community? (Ranked from 0-10)

v. Entry must receive a Yes response to i and ii and will be ranked based on iii and iv.  The top 5 eligible Entries with the highest overall scores will move forward to the interview and judging process.

If, during the Eligibility Determination process, none of the eligible Entries receive a judges’ score above a cumulative average of 5 on the 10 point scale under iii and iv above, Sponsor reserves the right not to award a prize during the applicable Entry Period.

In the event of a tie, ties will be broken based on the originality score. If a tie still remains, the tie will be broken based on a vote by the Sponsor judges from among the tied Entries.  Each judge will select the one tied Entry it believes is the strongest in criteria iii. above and the tied Entry with the most votes will proceed to the interview voting round. If a tie still remains, tied Entries will be reviewed by separate independent judges selected by Sponsor using the judging criteria and process outlined above.

Sponsor or its representative acting on behalf of Sponsor, will interview up to 5 eligible Entries per Entry Period to obtain additional information and understand the philanthropic cause and/or community connection of the Entry. Entrants agree to submit to an interview process that may include electronic recordation, which may be used by Sponsor, in its sole discretion. Entrants may be required to execute an additional release agreement with respect to the interview, at Sponsor’s discretion.  Upon conclusion of the interview process, the eligible Entries shall move on to Scoring of Entries as outlined below.

 

Scoring of Entries: Following the interviews, eligible Entries will be judged by a panel of judges consisting of personnel from Sponsor and its designated outside experts. Each Entry’s final score will be an average score of the score given by each judge for that Entry based on the below criteria. The decisions of the panel are final and binding. Entry scores will be calculated based on the following criteria and will not be disclosed to the entrants

  • 20% – Alignment with Cenex® brand values (neighborly, trustworthy, hardworking, forward thinking) and proximity to branded dealers, retailers and distributors.
  • 30% – Has a philanthropic mission that benefits the community and addresses a need today and into the future.
  • 25% – Fosters community connection that unites people in meaningful and intentional ways. It could be a product that will facilitate connection or the act of bringing people together.
  • 25% – The submission is a unique story: it’s newsworthy and people care about it

In the event of a tie, ties will be broken based on the “philanthropic mission” score. If a tie still remains, the tie will be broken based on the “newsworthy” criteria score. If a tie still remains, tied Entries will be reviewed by a separate panel of judges selected by Sponsor using the judging criteria and process outlined above.

 

Selection of Winners: From all the Entries submitted during the Contest Period, a panel of judges will select a total of six (6) winners (each a “Winner”), one (1) Winner during each Entry Period, based on the scores awarded to each Entry during the applicable Entry Period.  Entries not selected as Winners after a particular Entry Period will be eligible to win in the next Entry Period.  Non-winning Entries from previous Hometown Pride contests prior to this Contest Period may re-submit Entries for this Contest Period in accordance with the Official Rules of this Contest. 

 

Notification of Winners: The Winners will be notified via email to the email address provided in the Entry on or about the following schedule:

  • Entry Period 1 Winner –April 15, 2022
  • Entry Period 2 Winner –July 15, 2022
  • Entry Period 3 Winner – October 15, 2022
  • Entry Period 4 Winner – January 15, 2023
  • Entry Period 5 Winner – April 15, 2023
  • Entry Period 6 Winner – July 15, 2023

If any potential Winner does not acknowledge acceptance of the prize within thirty (30) days after being sent notification, the Entry with the next highest score may be chosen as the Winner.  Sponsor is not responsible for changes in entrant’s email address or any other technological issues which may result in the potential Winner not receiving the email notification. Sponsor may at its discretion, but is not required to, contact the potential Winner by other means, if it does not receive an email response.

 

Requirements of Winners: Sponsor may require the Winner to sign and return an affidavit of eligibility and liability and publicity release, wherever lawful, as a precondition to award of a prize. If the Winner fails to sign and return the requested documents to Sponsor within the requested timeframe, that potential Winner may be disqualified, and the prize may thereafter be awarded to the Entry with the next highest judge’s score.  

 

Prize: Each Winner will receive twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) towards the philanthropic endeavor which is the subject of  the Entry materials . The prize will be issued via check to the recipient cause or organization, rather than the individual which submitted the Entry. Regardless of the number of Entries submitted, for which there is no limit, an entrant may not be declared a Winner more than once per Contest Period. Sponsor will issue a Form 1099 for each prize, as applicable.

 

Privacy: By submitting an Entry, participants acknowledge and agree that any personal information that they provided may be maintained, used and disclosed as outlined for the purposes herein and in accordance with Sponsor’s privacy policy, which can be found at https://www.chsinc.com/privacy-policy.

 

Release and Publicity: You are participating in the Contest voluntarily. You assume all such risks and all related damages and losses, whether caused in whole or in part by any act or omission of Sponsor, its marketing agencies or their affiliates, or any of their officers, directors, employees, agents, partners and licensors (“Sponsor Parties”), even where such acts or omissions are negligent. You voluntarily release, waive, discharge and hold harmless the Sponsor Parties from any and all claims, demands or causes of action for property damage, bodily injury, wrongful death, loss of services or other claims arising from or relating to your participation in the Contest and/or acceptance, possession and use of any prize.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT THE SPONSOR PARTIES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY TYPE OR MANNER OF COMMERCIAL, BUSINESS OR FINANCIAL LOSS, EVEN IF THE SPONSOR PARTIES HAD ACTUAL OR CONSTRUCTIVE KNOWLEDGE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES AND REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH DAMAGES WERE FORESEEABLE.

SPONSOR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY TYPOGRAPHICAL OR OTHER ERROR IN THE PRINTING OF THE OFFER OR ADMINISTRATION OF THE CONTEST OR IN THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF ANY PRIZES. BY RECEIPT OF ANY PRIZE AND BY SIGNING AN AFFIDAVIT OF ELIGIBILITY AND LIABILITY/PUBLICITY RELEASE, IF REQUESTED, THE WINNER CONSENTS TO THE USE OF HIS OR HER NAME, ENTRANT LIKENESS, ADDRESS AND ALL ASSOCIATED ENTRY MATERIALS BY SPONSOR FOR ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES, WITHOUT ANY ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION, EXCEPT WHERE PROHIBITED. NO ENTRIES WILL BE RETURNED.

 

Governing Law: These Official Rules shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the United States Federal Arbitration Act, other applicable federal laws and the laws of the State of Minnesota, without regard to conflict of laws principles.

 

DISPUTES:

ANY DISPUTE OR CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING IN ANY WAY TO THESE OFFICIAL RULES, YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE VALIDITY, APPLICABILITY OR INTERPRETATION OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES (“CLAIM”), SHALL BE RESOLVED BY BINDING ARBITRATION RATHER THAN IN COURT, EXCEPT THAT YOU MAY ASSERT CLAIMS IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOUR CLAIMS QUALIFY. THERE IS NO JUDGE OR JURY IN ARBITRATION, AND COURT REVIEW OF AN ARBITRATION AWARD IS LIMITED.

The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its then-applicable rules, including (as appropriate) its Consumer Arbitration Rules. The AAA's rules are available at http://www.adr.org/. Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA’s rules. The arbitration shall be conducted in the English language by a single independent and neutral arbitrator. For any hearing conducted in person as part of the arbitration, you agree that the hearing will be conducted in Minneapolis, Minnesota or, if the Consumer Arbitration Rules apply, another location reasonably convenient to both parties with due consideration of their ability to travel and other pertinent circumstances, as determined by the arbitrator. The decision of the arbitrator on all matters relating to a Claim shall be final and binding. Judgment on the arbitral award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

WE EACH AGREE THAT ALL CLAIMS SHALL BE RESOLVED ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT IN A CLASS, CONSOLIDATED OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION OR ARBITRATION. IF FOR ANY REASON A CLAIM PROCEEDS IN COURT RATHER THAN IN ARBITRATION, WE EACH WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND AGREE THAT SUCH CLAIM SHALL BE BROUGHT ONLY IN A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION IN MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA. YOU HEREBY SUBMIT TO THE PERSONAL JURISDICTION AND VENUE OF SUCH COURTS AND WAIVE ANY OBJECTION ON THE GROUNDS OF VENUE, FORUM NON-CONVENIENS OR ANY SIMILAR GROUNDS WITH RESPECT TO ANY SUCH CLAIM.

 

Severability: If any provision of these Contest Rules is held to be invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, then such provision shall be construed, limited, modified or, if necessary, severed to the extent necessary to eliminate its invalidity or unenforceability, without in any way affecting the remaining parts of these Contest Rules.

 

Contest Results and Official Rules: To obtain the identity of the prize winner and/or a copy of these Official Rules, send an email to CenexHometownPride@chsinc.com -or- send a self-addressed stamped envelope to CHS Inc., c/o Cenex Hometown Pride Official Rules, 5500 Cenex Drive 572, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55077.