The Local Newspaper’s
“The Best of the Year”
Official Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

1. Introduction and Overview
$130,000 will be awarded to NonProfits as voted on by Subscribers of The Local Newspaper. 

The Local Newspaper is conducting a promotion with $175,000 in cash prizes as part of The Best of the Year’s annual voting. Now in its third year, The Best of the Year allows Subscribers to vote for potential winners in a multitude of categories.

One category to be voted on in each of 100 cities will be “NonProfit of the Year.” The NonProfit (as defined below) with the most votes in the aggregate of the 100 cities will be named “America’s NonProfit of the Year” as voted on by Subscribers of The Local Newspaper.  This NonProfit will be eligible to receive $50,000 cash! The NonProfit voted “America’s NonProfit Chapter of the Year” will be eligible to win $50,000. Two other NonProfits will each be eligible to win $15,000 cash!

Three Voters (as defined below) will also have a chance to win additional prizes totaling $45,000, which includes two (2) $10,000 prizes randomly selected from all eligible voters and one (1) $25,000 prize randomly selected from a group of voters that had correctly identified a high percentage of winners in their chosen city, also known as “City Experts.”  Limit one (1) prize per Voter.

Four primary steps to participate include:

• Subscribing to TheLocalNewspaper.com – a subscription is FREE!
• Registering to vote in The Best of the Year -- registration is FREE!
• Voting -- only one ballot per Subscriber -- for the minimum number of categories.
• Submitting the ballot.

Voting begins on Saturday, October 21, 2006 and ends on Thursday, November 30, 2006.

2. Eligibility
The Local Newspaper’s The Best of the Year Promotion (the “Promotion” or “TBOTY”) is open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States (and the District of Columbia) who are at least eighteen (18) years old at the time of entry. Employees of Sponsor and Administrator (as defined below), entities and individuals associated or affiliated with the Promotion as well as their immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible to win prizes. The Promotion is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited. Participation constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Sponsor and Administrator’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Promotion. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.

3. Timing
The Promotion begins on Saturday, October 21, 2006 at 12:01 p.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends on November 30, 2006 at 11:59 p.m. ET (the “Promotion Period”). US Naval Observatory time is the official time keeping device for this Promotion.

4. How to Enter
During the Promotion Period, visit www.TheLocalNewspaper.com (the “Site”) and subscribe to the Site. To become a “Subscriber”, you will need to provide the following information: name, mailing address (including city, state and zip code), and email address. Once you are a Subscriber you will be able to register for the Promotion and be eligible to cast votes for The Best of the Year. To become a registered “Voter”, a Subscriber will need to provide the following information: age range, gender, and daytime phone number. There is no fee to subscribe to the Site or register as a Voter for the Promotion. Once eligible to vote you will need to select one (1) city from the list of 100 different cities provided (see section 5 for listing of cities). Then you will be asked to provide answers to 150 questions (the “Ballot”) as they relate to that city. You will be asked for your opinion regarding the “best of” in various categories. The Ballot contains 150 questions. To be an eligible entrant in the Promotion, you must provide a response to a minimum of 75 questions. The same response cannot be provided more than 10 times. Be sure your answers contain proper legal names (including location when applicable). Some of the categories involve subject matter appropriate only for individuals who are 21 years of age and older (e.g., beer and vodka). For those categories anyone who is under 21 years of age is not required nor expected to provide a response. Once you meet the above requirements you will be automatically entered into the Promotion with one (1) entry into the Promotion to become a “Lucky Voter” and your answers will be considered to determine the prize winners of the various TBOTY categories. If you do not follow the requirements you will not be entered into the Promotion and your answers will not be considered. Limit: Each participant may enter one (1) time during the Promotion Period. This does not prevent you from returning to the Site during the Promotion Period and completing your single Ballot that had been previously started. Multiple participants are not permitted to share the same email address. Any attempt by any participant to obtain more than the stated number of entries by using multiple/different email addresses, identities, registrations and logins, or any other methods will void that participant’s Ballots and that participant and their submissions may be disqualified. Use of any automated system to participate is prohibited and will result in disqualification. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible or misdirected registrations, which will be disqualified. In the event of a dispute as to any registration, the authorized account holder of the email address used to register will be deemed to be the registrant or player. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address. Potential winners may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder.

Alternatively, you may request the Sponsor mail you a Ballot. To request a Ballot send a request to The Best of the Year Promotion, c/o The Local Newspaper, Inc., PO Box 1269, Myrtle Beach, SC 29578-1269.  Your request must be handwritten and include your name, age, complete address (including zip code), daytime phone number and a self-addressed, stamped envelope. VT residents may exclude return postage.  All handwritten Ballots must be postmarked by November 30, 2006 and received by December 7, 2006.  Only one (1) entry per person, regardless of method of entry.

5. Winner Selection:
Qualified Voters are individuals registered as Voters who have met the requirement of providing at least 75 valid responses that will be used as votes in determining The Best of the Year Winners in the one city of their choice, selected from the list of One Hundred Cities. Registered Voters will designate their votes to be cast in one of the One Hundred Cities found in the list below:

Sponsor and Administrator’s decisions as to the administration and operation of this Promotion and the selection of potential winners are final and binding in all matters related to this Promotion. Sponsor and Administrator will select the potential winners, from all eligible entries, on or around March 1, 2007, based on the following:

• America’s NonProfit of the Year: The one (1) NonProfit that receives the most aggregate votes as “America’s NonProfit of the Year” from all qualified Voters will receive the America’s NonProfit of the Year prize (the “ANPOTY Prize”).
• America’s NonProfit Chapter of the Year: The one (1) NonProfit directly affiliated with the winner of the ANPOTY Prize, that receives the greatest percentage of votes in one of the One Hundred Cities from all qualified Voters will receive the America’s NonProfit Chapter of the Year prize (the “ANPCOTY Prize”).
• City NonProfit of the Year: The one (1) NonProfit  that receives the highest percentage of votes as the “NonProfit of the Year” in one particular city from all qualified Voters in that city receives the City NonProfit of the Year prize (the “CNPOTY Prize”).  Note: the ANPCOTY Prize winner cannot win the CNPOTY Prize.  If the ANPCOTY receives the highest percentage of votes of all One Hundred Cities, the CNPOTY Prize will be awarded to the NonProfit that receives the second highest percentage of votes from all One Hundred Cities.
• Myrtle Beach NonProfit of the Year: The one (1) NonProfit or Chapter of a NonProfit, domiciled or located in Horry County, SC that receives the most aggregate votes from all qualified Voters who have determined Myrtle Beach, SC as their preferred city for voting purposes (the “MBNPOTY”), will receive a prize (the “MBNPOTY Prize”). Note: the MBNPOTY Prize winner cannot also win the one (1) CNPOTY Prize. If the MBNPOTY receives the same percentage of votes as the CNPOTY Prize winner, then the MBNPOTY Prize will be awarded to the MBNPOTY that receives the next highest percentage of votes out of all One Hundred Cities.
• City Experts: Each qualified Voter will be scored on the total number of winners from the 150 winners in the city in which they voted. Qualified Voters’ answers will be compared with the “best of” winners for each category in each city.  ALL ACTUAL SCORES WILL REMAIN CONFIDENTIAL. The top 10% of all qualified Voters in each city, in the determination of the Sponsor and Administrator, will receive the title of “City Expert,” (for the particular city they voted in) collectively referred to as “City Experts”. Note: In determining City Experts, ballots of all Qualified Voters in each city will be scored based on the percent of categories in which votes match the winners in each city. For example, if Qualified Voter A voted in 80 categories and selected 60 winners, A's Percentage Score would be 75%. If Qualified Voter B voted in 120 categories and selected 84 winners, B's Percentage Score would be 70%. Qualified Voter A would outrank Qualified Voter B (scored by percentage), even though B’s ballot matched more winners than A. Qualified Voters will be ranked according to their Percentage Scores. The Qualified Voters in a city whose Percentage Scores are in the top ten percent of all Qualified Voters in that city will be named City Experts. The Expert of the Year will be randomly selected from the pool of all City Experts from all One Hundred Cities. Random selection will be made using the Java 5.0 random number generator seeded by the date and time of the selection, and selecting the 100th random number generated.
• Expert of the Year: One (1) individual will be randomly selected for a prize from the pool consisting of all City Experts from all of the One Hundred Cities (the “Expert of the Year Prize”).
• Lucky Voters: Two (2) individuals who are qualified Voters and successfully entered the Promotion during the Promotion Period will be randomly selected for a prize from among all qualified Voters (the “Lucky Voters Prize”).

Additional rules regarding winner selection for all prizes: All decisions of the Sponsor are final in the awarding of all prizes. All Nonprofits of the Year must be NonProfit organizations incorporated under the laws of one of the fifty United States (or DC). For the purposes of this Promotion, “NonProfit” means an active 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(6) or other equivalent charitable organization recognized by the Internal Revenue Service, and be in good standing in the state (or DC) in which it is domiciled; the organization must have been formed and approved by the governing state body in the state (or DC) in which it is incorporated, prior to September 1, 2006. In the event that the NonProfit voted America’s NonProfit of the Year has only one office or location, with no chapter or affiliate offices, that NonProfit will receive both the ANPOTY Prize and the ANPCOTY Prize. In the event of a tie in any of the NonProfit prize categories, the tie will be broken based on the percentage of votes awarded to the tied NonProfits in the zip code of the main US Post Office in the applicable cities (zip code selection is at Sponsor's sole discretion, but the zip code is intended to be the zip code of the main US Post Office for the applicable city).  The NonProfit receiving the highest percentage of votes within that zip code shall be declared the winner.  For example, if there is a tie between NonProfit A and NonProfit B for the ANPOTY prize, and NonProfit A is in Albany, NY and NonProfit B is in Albuquerque, NM, Sponsor will review the percentage of votes awarded to NonProfit A in the zip code for the main US Post Office for Albany, NY and the percentage of votes awarded to NonProfit B in the zip code for the main US Post Office in Albuquerque, NM.  The NonProfit that received the highest percentage of votes in its zip code will be awarded the ANPOTY prize.

6. ALL POTENTIAL PROMOTION WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION BY SPONSOR AND ADMINISTRATOR WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE PROMOTION.

7. Verification of Potential Winners
Potential winners must continue to comply with all terms and conditions of these Official Rules, and winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements. The potential winners will be notified by email, telephone, or registered mail after the date of selection, which will be on or about March 1, 2007. Potential winners will be required to sign and return to Sponsor, within ten (10) days of the date that the notice is sent, an affidavit of eligibility, and liability/publicity release (except where prohibited) in order to claim the prize, if applicable. If a potential winner of any prize cannot be contacted, fails to sign and return the affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release within the required time period (if applicable), or if the prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, potential winner forfeits prize. In the event that a potential winner of a prize is disqualified for any reason, Sponsor will award the applicable prize to an alternate winner by selection from among all remaining eligible entries. There will be two (2) alternate selections after which the prize will remain un-awarded.

8. Prizes

• ANPOTY Prize: Fifty Thousand Dollar ($50,000) prize. Disbursement will be subject to Section 5 (above).
• ANPCOTY Prize:Fifty Thousand Dollar ($50,000) prize. Disbursement will be subject to Section 5 (above).
• CNPOTY Prize: One (1) Fifteen Thousand Dollar ($15,000) prize.
• MBNPOTY Prize: One (1) Fifteen Thousand Dollar ($15,000) prize.
• Expert of the Year Prize: One (1) Twenty-five Thousand Dollar ($25,000) prize will be randomly awarded to the Expert of the Year.
• Lucky Voter Prize: One (1) Ten Thousand Dollar ($10,000) prize will be randomly awarded to each of two (2) Lucky Voters.

For All Prizes: Odds of winning a prize depends on the number of eligible entries received during the Promotion Period. Prizes are non-transferable and no substitution will be made except as provided herein at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute any listed prize for one of equal or greater value for any reason. Winners are responsible for all taxes and fees associated with prize receipt and/or use. TOTAL ARV OF ALL PRIZES: $175,000.

9. Release
By participating in the Promotion, entrant agrees to release and hold harmless Sponsor and their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, distributors, advertising/promotion agencies and each of their respective parent companies and each such company’s officers, directors, employees and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any claim or cause of action, including, but not limited to, personal injury, death, or damage to or loss of property, arising out of participation in the Promotion or receipt or use or misuse of any prize.

10. Publicity
Except where prohibited, participation in the Promotion constitutes winner’s consent to Sponsor’s and its agents’ use of winner’s name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions and/or hometown and state for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration.

11. General Conditions
Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Promotion, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Promotion, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Promotion or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Promotion may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

12. Limitations of Liability
The Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by entrants, printing errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Promotion; (2) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Promotion; (4) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Promotion or the processing of entries; (5) inaccurate vote totals based on entrant’s typographical errors; or (6) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrant’s participation in the Promotion or receipt or use or misuse of any prize. If for any reason an entrant’s entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, entrant’s sole remedy is another entry in the Promotion, provided that if it is not possible to award another entry due to discontinuance of the Promotion, or any part of it, for any reason, Sponsor, at its discretion, may elect to hold a random selection from among all eligible entries received up to the date of discontinuance for any or all of the prizes offered herein. No more than the stated number of prizes will be awarded. In event that production, technical, seeding, programming or any other reasons cause more than stated number of prizes as set forth in these Official Rules to be available and/or claimed, Sponsor reserves the right to award only the stated number of prizes by a random selection among all legitimate, unawarded, eligible prize claims.

13. Disputes
Entrant agrees that: (i) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Promotion, or any prizes awarded, other than those concerning the administration of the Promotion or the determination of winners, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (ii) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Promotion, or any prizes awarded, shall be resolved exclusively by the United States District Court in Florence, SC, or the appropriate South Carolina State Court located in Horry County, South Carolina; (iii) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Promotion, but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (iv) under no circumstances will entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and entrant hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO PERSONS OF THAT/THOSE JURISDICTIONS. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the entrant and Sponsor in connection with the Promotion, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of South Carolina, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of South Carolina or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of South Carolina.

14. Entrant’s Personal Information
Information collected from entrants is subject to the Sponsor’s Privacy Policy which is available at www.TheLocalNewspaper.com/privacy/.

15. Promotion Results
For Promotion results and/or a copy of these Official Rules, send a hand-printed, self-addressed, stamped envelope to The Local Newspaper’s The Best of the Year Promotion, c/o The Local Newspaper, Inc., PO Box 1269, Myrtle Beach, SC 29578-1269. Requests for the Official Rules must be received by November 30, 2006. Requests for the winner list must be received by April 1, 2007. VT residents may exclude return postage.

16. Sponsor and Administrator
The Local Newspaper, Inc., PO Box 1269, Myrtle Beach, SC 29578-1269.