"Stetson Salutes" Contest (Military Only)

Does your family member or friend have a fantastic story about a Stetson to share with the world? Stetson Salutes, invites military men and women, their friends and family members to submit a story about the special role a Stetson hat has played in their lives.

For each submission made, we’ll contribute one dollar to the Armed Services YMCA, up to $5,000. In addition, the top three winners of our contest will be honored with a customized Stetson hat named after them and incorporated into the 2010 line.

Eligibility: open to all legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C., 18 years of age or older, as of June 22, 2009. In addition, each Story subject must have served in the US military. Void in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and where prohibited, taxed or restricted by law.

Entry Dates: begins June 22, 2009 and ends at 11:59pm ET on July 31, 2009.

How to enter: Visit www.StetsonSalutes.com by completing the contest registration form, and submitting a creative photo and story which must be about a person who currently is serving, or who previously has served, in any branch of the United States military and which addresses the theme “how the Honoree is linked to a Stetson hat”.

Entry Limit: Each Entrant may submit one (1) Stetson Story entry into the contest. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any person or email address that submits more than maximum allowed entries.

Stetson Story Entries not meeting all of the following minimum requirements will be disqualified:

• Each story must address the theme “how the Honoree is linked to a Stetson hat”
• Each photo file size must not exceed 3 MB
• Each photo must be in one of the following formats: .jpg, .bmp, .tif, or .pdf
• Each story must be 500 words or less.
• Each entry must include the name, address, and telephone number of the Honoree and the branch of the US Military in which the Honoree served
• Each Stetson Story must not, in the sole and unfettered judgment of the Sponsor, contain any sexually explicit, disparaging, libelous or other inappropriate content or any act that is considered dangerous.
• Each Stetson Story must not contain any (i) trademarks of any person or entity other than Sponsor; or (ii) any logos, depictions, designs, or other content in which the entrant does not hold the copyright or a license there under.

Judging: Each Story will be judged based on the following criteria: Appropriateness to the Theme (30%), Creativity (20%), Inspiration (20%), Broad Appeal (20%), and Message Delivery (10%). Each Story entry will be reviewed by a qualified judge or panel of judges, to be selected in Sponsor’s sole discretion, whose decisions are final and binding. The three (3) Grand Prize winners will be selected based on the scoring of the judges based on the aforementioned criteria.

Prizes: There will be three (3) Grand Prize winners. Each Grand Prize winner will receive one (1) Stetson hat for each of the Winning Entrant and the Honoree who is the subject of the winning entry. The style and color of the hat will be selected by Sponsor in its sole discretion. The approximate retail value of the hat is $250.

Drawing Date: The prize winners will be contacted on or about August 15, 2009. All prize winners will be contacted by phone and mail.

Official rules: www.stetsonsalutes.com/rules

Sweeps Rating: Okay

Photo credit: “Stetson Salutes” Contest

Sent in by: R Taylor