THE WAY WE WORKED in Southeast Kansas ESSAY CONTEST

Miners Hall Museum Foundation is pleased to announce an essay contest on the following topic: The Way We Worked in Southeast Kansas.   This contest is being held in conjunction with The Kansas Humanities Council and the Smithsonian Institution in promoting the upcoming Smithsonian traveling exhibit “The Way We Worked”.

Section I – General Rules:  Multiple entries are permitted.   Entries that address a different topic,  are incomplete, are submitted late or otherwise do not comply with these Official Rules and Regulations will not be accepted.    By entering the Essay Contest, entrants agree that Miners Hall Museum Foundation will own and administer 100% of the copyright in all essays submitted, with the perpetual right to use such essays and that said essays are solely the work of the entrant.   Miners Hall Museum Foundation may edit for grammar, modify for style only, and distribute the submitted essays with no additional notification or permission of the entrant. Essays will be used to further the educational mission and goals of the Miners Hall Museum Foundation.

Section II – Eligibility:  The Contest is open to all United States citizens or legal residents age 18 and over.

Section III – Essay Guidelines:

1.  Each essay must adhere to the topic.

2.  Entrants may select from two categories.    Winners will be selected in each category.

• The Way We Worked in Southeast Kansas – Mining

OR

• The Way We Worked in Southeast Kansas –  All other professions.   Category B can be any profession of your choice (i.e. The Way We Worked in Southeast Kansas – Education, The Way We Worked in Southeast Kansas – Nursing, etc.)

3.  Content should reflect:

• How is this story unique to our community?
• Can other communities tell a similar story?  If so, how can I make the story specific to my community?
• Why is this story important to my community?

4.  Essays may be no longer than 500 words, and must be submitted by 11:59 pm CST on May 15, 2012. Submissions may be made via email to: minershallmuseum@yahoo.com OR by mail to MHM, P. O. Box 43, Franklin, Ks. 66735.

5.  Entrants must provide his or her first and last name, email address, permanent address and phone number and date of birth.

6.  The essay must have a title.

7.  Entries must be in English.

8.  Essays must be original, never published, not in the public domain, factually accurate, and must not infringe or violate any law or the legal or equitable right of any person or entity, nor contain material that infringes or violates any personal property rights of others or that constitutes defamation, invasion of privacy, an infringement of the intellectual property rights of any third person, or is otherwise unlawful. By submitting an essay, each entrant acknowledges his or her understanding of and compliance with these rules. Miners Hall Museum Foundation reserves the right to disqualify any entry deemed inappropriate for publication, at their discretion.

9.  All essays and all rights to their publication become the property of Miners Hall Museum Foundation, which may use, edit and excerpt these entries for promotional or any other purpose, including placing them online without attribution or compensation, additional or otherwise. Miners Hall Museum Foundation reserves the right to use prizewinners’ names and hometowns in any advertising or promotional materials relating to this competition without further notification, permission, or compensation to the winners,

Section IV – Judging and Timing

After the Contest Period, the judges selected by the Miners Hall Museum Foundation will review and select the winning essays in each category.   Entries will be evaluated based upon the following criteria: adherence to the Essay Guidelines, originality, organization, writing style, and content. Judging will be completed on or around June 15, 2012. Winners will be notified by phone and/or mail.

Miners Hall Museum Foundation reserves the right in their sole administration of the Contest to disqualify any individual they find or believe to: (i) be tampering with the entry process or the administration of the Contest, (ii) be acting in violation of these Official Rules and Regulations, or (iii) plagiarizing content in any form.   The decisions of the judges will be final.

The selection of the judges is within the sole and absolute discretion of Miners Hall Museum Foundation.

Section V – Awards

Winners must provide publicity photos and information.

The top 3 entries in each category will be submitted to Kansas Humanities Council for use in promoting the upcoming Smithsonian traveling exhibit.  Winners will also receive the following cash prizes based upon the judges’ evaluations.

• First place – $25
• Second place - $10
• Third place – $5

Winning essays, as well as 5 honorable mentions (the authors of which are not entitled to any monetary or other award), will be displayed during the Smithsonian traveling exhibit, The Way We Worked.

Section VI – Availability Disclaimer

The administration of the Contest, including, without limitation, determining the eligibility of an essay, selecting of a judge, evaluating any submitted essay, and awarding of the prizes, is within the sole and absolute discretion of the Miners Hall Museum Foundation. No person or organization related thereto, has a right to appeal, contest, dispute, or otherwise challenge any aspect of the administration of the Contest, and any decision of the Miners Hall Museum Foundation is final in all respects.

No responsibility is assumed for incorrect or inaccurate entry information whether caused by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized by this contest or by any human error which may occur in the processing of entries into this Contest. Miners Hall Museum Foundation is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, or delayed entries or any problems or technical malfunctions of any telephone network or lines, computer on-line systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of players on account of technical problems, or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website or combination thereof.

If, for any reason, the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Miners Hall Museum Foundation, which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this contest or for any reason Miners Hall Museum deems it necessary, Miners Hall Museum reserves the right to cancel, modify, or delay the Contest.

Section VII – Nondiscrimination Policy

In administering the Contest, Miners Hall Museum Foundation will not discriminate in any manner, including on the basis of race, color, national, or ethnic origin, and each eligible essay submitted will be evaluated upon the merit of its contents.

Send entries to:  Miners Hall Museum, P. O. Box 43, Franklin, Ks. 66735 or email to: minershallmuseum@yahoo.com