Win this 2001 Nissan Xterra SE.  The Hassinger Family Estate is giving away this very nice, clean SUV.  The current value of the this Xterra is about $6500.00.  Shipping will be included to the winner to anywhere in the continental United States. Features of the Xterra, V6, 4x4, 6 disk CD changer, Sunroof, power window/locks, running boards, remote starter.

Submit your essay: The topic of the essay is open, so be creative.  Please limit to 300 words or less.  Essay to be accompanied with an entry fee in the amount of $25.00. To enter the essay contest mail  your essay and a check or money order payable to: Hassinger Family Estate, 57 Pinkham Rd, Damariscotta, ME 04543.  You may also enter on-line by sending an e-mail to: xterraessay@gmail.com with your essay as an attachment and submit payment through PayPal (www.paypal.com) to xterraessay@gmail.com.  Do not include name, address or any other personal information on the essay itself as it will be independently judged based entirely on content.  Attach a separate page with personal information.

All entries must be received by April, 30 2009.  Enter as many times as you like, however each entry must be unique and each submission will require a $25.00 entry fee.

Rules & Regulations

Hassinger Family Estate

Void where prohibited by law. By entering the Essay Contest (“Contest”), entrants consent to be bound by these Official Rules, which shall constitute a contract between entrants and Hassinger Family Estate (“Sponsor”). All decisions of Sponsor with respect to the Contest shall be final.

The following rules (the “Official Rules”) govern the Contest:

Contest Period

The Contest shall begin on December 1^st , 2008 and shall continue until April 30^th, 2009, at Midnight Eastern Time (“Contest Period”), unless extended or shortened by Sponsor in accordance with these rules. All essays must be postmarked on or before April  30^th, 2009.

The Contest Period may be shortened, at the sole discretion of the Sponsor, before April 30^th 2009, in the event that the number of qualified entries (300 minimum) (“Entrant Number Amount”) (subject to increase as provided herein) is received before April 30^th, 2009. The Contest Period may be extended for a period of up to (6) additional months in the event that the end of the Contest Period does not meet the minimum Entrant Number Amount. If on the day that the Entrant Number Amount is met more than the maximum number of entries necessary to meet the Entrant Number Amount received, then all entries received up through midnight Eastern Time on the day that Entrant Number Amount is met will be included in the Contest. Entries received after the Contest Period will not be considered.

If the Entrant Number Amount is not met, the Sponsor may elect in its sole discretion (i) to have all entries received judged (“Close the Contest”) or (ii) to return the entry fee of $25.00 less the processing fee of $10.00 per each Entrant Fee to cover administrative fees in processing all cashier’s checks, money orders, personal checks, and/or mailing and postage requirements.

Once the Sponsor elects to close the Contest, the prize will be distributed to the winning Contest entry received during the Contest Period.

Eligibility

To be eligible to win, you must be at least 18 years old as of the date of entry, pay the requisite entry fee, and comply with these Official Rules.  The Contest is open to all individuals world-wide, not-for-profit organizations, for-profit corporations, or investors, and is null and void wherever prohibited by law. Officers, directors, and employees of Sponsor and judges of the Contest and its affiliates, as well as those individuals’ immediate family members and the residents of their households are not eligible.

Sponsor reserves the right, exercisable upon its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds has: (1) violated these Official Rules; (2) interfered with, or attempted to manipulate, the Contest or Contest results; (3) violated any law or regulation by participating in the Contest; or (4) provided false information to Sponsor.

Sponsor has endeavored to comply with all legal requirements in developing Contest and does not desire to accept entries from residents of jurisdictions where the Contest does not comply with the laws of the jurisdiction in which the individual resides. If any governmental entity determines that an entrant violates applicable laws or regulations, the Sponsor shall have the option, in it sole discretion to disqualify you as an entrant in the Contest and return any associated entry fee. Sponsor makes no representation regarding accessing the materials on this Site from jurisdictions where its contents or the Contest are illegal or prohibited. Those users who choose to access this Site from other locations do so at their own risk and are responsible for compliance with local laws and regulations.

How to Enter

Eligible individuals may enter the Contest by submitting a qualified entry to Sponsor during the Contest Period. Entries must be received during the Contest Period. An individual may enter as many times as he or she desires so long as each entry satisfies the entry requirements.

To qualify for entry into the Contest, all entries must include the following:

(1)   An entry fee of US $25.00 paid via Personal Check, Money Order or Cashiers Check made payable to: Hassinger Family Estate.  Any properly completed Essay Submission that is accompanied with a Personal Check that is returned to the Sponsor stamped NSF or CLOSED ACCOUNT will be automatically disqualified from the Contest.

      All entries are to be submitted to:

      Hassinger Family Estate

      57 Pinkham Rd

      Damariscotta, ME 04543

You may also enter on-line by sending an e-mail to: xterraessay@gmail.com with your essay as an attachment and submit payment through PayPal (www.paypal.com) to xterraessay@gmail.com.  Do not include name, address or any other personal information on the essay itself as it will be independently judged based entirely on content.  Attach a separate page with personal information.

(2)    A properly completed Essay Submission specifying the unequivocal identity of the entrant.

Sponsor is not responsible for any late, lost, misdirected, incomplete, illegible mail, or destruction of entries due to circumstances beyond the control of Sponsor. Confirmation of receipt of your entry may be obtained by including a self addressed stamped envelope.

Submissions are considered VOID if illegible, incomplete, damaged, irregular, altered, pornographic or obtained through fraud or theft. Written essays and supporting 4x6 color photos will not be returned for any reason, so do not send your only copy.

Essay Contest & Writers Guidelines

The topic of essay submissions is open to any subject so be creative.  Essay submissions may be  non-fiction, or fiction

The “Stories” must have a beginning, middle and an ending. Essays shall be submitted my mail or “On-Line” and shall contain no more than (300) words. Any word in a standard dictionary of American English, regardless of length, shall count as a single word. Essays must be written in English.

Please be sure to include on a separate paper with your essay denoting your name, address, telephone numbers, and any other information useful for contacting you.

Be sure you do not put your name or any other identifying information on the body of your essay. Personal contact information is not included in the word count of the essay. No anonymous or author unknown submissions will be accepted.

It is preferred that all essays are typed on plain white 8 ½” x 11” paper, in 12-point Times New Roman font. Handwritten entries will only be accepted if they are neat and legible.

If you wish to enter “On-Line”, send an e-mail to xterraessay@gmail.com and include your essay as an attachment to the e-mail. 

An individual who enters the Contest multiple times must submit substantively different essays with each entry, as shall be determined in the sole discretion of the Sponsor. Feel free to submit more than one essay.

Determination of Winner

The judges will select a winning entry based upon an honest and sincere expression of thought and emotions about the story.  Spelling and punctuation will be considered only to the extent that they add or detract from the other aspects of the essay.

The Winner shall be chosen from all qualified entries, and because this is a Contest of “skill”, there are no “odds” of a particular entry being chosen by the judges. However, Sponsor reasonably anticipates that the prize will be awarded from the qualified entries once the Sponsor elects to close the Contest. Number of Entries and Odds of Winning are One (1) out of all entries received. The maximum amount an entrant may be asked to pay per entry is US $25.00.

There will be a minimum of three judges who will determine the winning essay based upon the above foregoing criteria. Judges shall not know the identity of authors when judging essay content. The decision of the judges is final.

Prize

There will be only one (1) winner chosen from the qualified entries received during the Contest Period who will be awarded a title to the 2001 Nissan Xterra. With approximate value of $6500.00.  Shipping will be included to the winner to anywhere in the continental United States.  The prize cannot be substituted or redeemed for cash.

Except where prohibited by law, the winner must execute and provide to Sponsor the following: (1) Affidavit of Eligibility, attesting to the winner’s eligibility and compliance with the Official Rules; (2) a Liability Release, releasing Sponsor from any liability arising out of the Contest; and (3) a Publicity Release, allowing Sponsor to use the winner’s name, likeness, voice and biographical information for publicity purposes. Winner will also be required to provide any other information needed by Sponsor to comply with applicable laws and regulations, including those relating to the payment of income taxes. By accepting a prize, winner grants Sponsor permission for the use of his/her name, likeness and biographical information for advertising and promotional purposes without additional compensation, except where prohibited by law.

 Prize Notification

The winner will be notified by phone and/or in writing by overnight courier within ten (10) days of the prize being awarded. If the Sponsor is unable to confirm the winner within seven (7) days of notification being sent, or if a winner is disqualified, then the prize will be forfeited and awarded to the entrant who would have won the prize had the original winner not done so. The name of the winner will be posted on www.xterraessay.com

Limitations of Liability

In no event will Sponsor, its respective officers, directors, employees, representatives or agents, immediate family, members or residents of their households, or judges of the Contest, Hassinger Family Estate, its affiliates or their employees and partners, the Sponsor’s web designer or their respective officers, directors, employees, representatives or agents, immediate family members or residents of their households be responsible or liable for any damages or losses of any kind, including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, statutory or punitive damages. Without limiting the foregoing, with respect to the Contest and to the Prize, Sponsor makes no warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranties or merchantability of fitness for a particular purpose. Some jurisdictions may not allow the limitations or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages or exclusion of implied warranties so some of the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you. Check your local laws for any restrictions or limitations regarding these limitations or exclusions.

Dispute Resolution

By entering the Contest, each entrant agrees that any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to the participation in the Contest shall be settled by arbitration, before a single arbitrator, administered by the American Arbitrations Association, and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The locale of the arbitration shall be in Portland, Maine USA, and shall not be subject to transfer to another venue or locale for any reason. By entering the Contest, each entrant further agrees that he will not commence or participate in any litigation or proceeding, either as a class representative or as a class member, and that he will never seek to obtain from Sponsor awards for, and he hereby waives all rights to claim, statutory, punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, or any other damages, including attorney’s fees, other than actual out-of-pocket expenses (i.e. costs associated with entering the Contest). 

Copyright Ownership and License

Your name, city, state and contact information are non-confidential for all purposes and the Sponsor may disclose this information in conjunction with announcements related to prize winners and contests. You further agree that such submissions, your essays and photos become the property of Sponsor and that all title and interest therein, including all rights of copyright, shall rest with Sponsor at the time they are submitted. Such submissions are subject to being used, reproduced, modified, published, edited, translated, distributed, performed, and displayed in any media or medium, or any form, format or forum now known or hereafter developed for any purpose, in perpetuity without further notice. To the extent that submissions are not assignable, by submitting a letter, essay, photo or any other submission to the Sponsor, an entrant grants Sponsor a royalty-free, perpetual, world-wide, nonexclusive license to reproduce the letter, essay and photo, to create derivative works of the letter, essay and photo, and to display the letter, essay and photo, in any medium now known or hereafter to become known. The submission of such materials in no way creates any obligation or duty on the part of Sponsor to post or use such materials or, if we do so, to give the author credit. However, if Sponsor decides to post or use such materials, at Sponsor’s sole discretion, a credit line may be given to the author.

Governing Law

The Site can be accessed from all 50 states, as well as from other countries around the world. As each of these jurisdictions has laws and regulations that may differ from those of USA, by accessing this Site, both you and the Sponsor agree that the statutes and laws of the USA without regard to conflicts of laws principles thereof, will apply to the Contest, these Official Rules, the entire relationship between Sponsor and Entrants, and any legal proceeding arising there from (whether grounded in tort, contract, law or equity). In the case of a dispute, subject to the provisions of the Dispute Resolution paragraph above, you and Sponsor agree any litigation arising between the parties hereto shall be brought only in the state or federal courts having subject matter jurisdiction in Portland, Maine USA. You have irrevocably and unconditionally consent to the jurisdiction of any such court and hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waive any defense of an inconvenient forum to the maintenance of any action or proceeding in any such court, any objection to venue with respect to any such action or proceeding, and to any right of jurisdiction on account of the place of residence or domicile of any party thereto.   

Severability of Illegal Provisions

Wherever possible, each provision of this Agreement shall be interpreted in such a manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law.  Should any portion of this Agreement be declared invalid for any reason, such declaration shall have no effect upon the remaining portions of this Agreement.

Rights of Third Parties

Unless expressly stated herein to the contrary, nothing in this Agreement, whether express or implied, is intended to confer any rights or remedies under or by reason of this Agreement on any persons other than the parties hereto and their respective legal representatives, successors and permitted assigns.  Nothing in this Agreement is intended to relieve or discharge the obligation or liability of any third persons to any party to this Agreement, nor shall any provision give any third persons any right of subrogation or action over or against any party to this Agreement.

Amendment of Rules

Sponsor may amend the Official Rules in its sole discretion. Amendments will be posted on the Sponsor Website. Unless otherwise specified, any amendments will become effective on the day they are posted on this Site.

Entire Agreement

This Agreement, including exhibits, (if any) contains all agreements between the Parties.  There are no other representations, warranties, promises, agreements or understandings, oral, written or implied, among the Parties, except to the extent reference is made thereto in this Agreement.

Sponsor

The name of the Contest Sponsor is: Hassinger Family Estate.