Write an Essay, Win a Bookstore! (The details & finer print)

Here it is, bibliophiles and bookstore friends! The legal "Agreement" and the "Terms and Conditions" are presented below!

Once our current website gets all the updates and cool new things we're getting, we'll have an actual link where you can open up and download the documents themselves. Sorry for the bad timing on that: we had hoped the new and improved website would be up in time for our big announcement, but I promise, it's coming along within the next week to ten days.

In the meantime, here's ALL the information that's fit to print.


AGREEMENT

THIS AGREEMENT, made and entered into effective this____day of_________, 2017, by and between KATHRYN (KASEY) S. COX and KEVIN J. COOLIDGE, individually and trading and doing business as From My Shelf Books and Gifts, 7 East Avenue, Suite 101,Wellsboro, Pennsylvania 16901 (“From My Shelf”)

AND

________________________,of __________________________, (“Writer”)

WITNESSETH:

WHEREAS, Kasey Cox and Kevin Coolidge own and operate a bookstore known as From My Shelf Books and Gifts located at 7 East Avenue, Suite 101, Wellsboro, Tioga County, Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, Kevin and Kasey desire to sell the above business; and

WHEREAS, they wish to sell the same based upon an essay contest, the terms and conditions of which are described herein; and

WHEREAS, the above Writer desires to participate in the competition to acquire From My Shelf Books and Gifts;

NOW, THEREFORE, the parties to this Agreement, in consideration of the mutual covenants and promises contained herein, all intending to be legally bound hereby, do agree as follows:

1. Accompanying this Agreement is Writer’s check or money order in the amount of $75 payable to From My Shelf Books and Gifts, which sum will be held in a non-interest bearing escrow account. The entry fee and essay must be postmarked on or before the 31st day of March, 2018, and received by From My Shelf on or before the 15th day of April, 2018. In the event fewer than 4,000 contestants submit the $75 entry fee by the above dates, the entire $75 entry fee will be returned to the Writer. In the event 4,000 or more contestants pay the entry fee, the sums will be retained by Kevin and Kasey in exchange for transfer of ownership of the business as described herein.

2. The winner of the essay contest will receive:

(a) rental paid by From My Shelf for six months on the 1100 square foot space presently occupied by the bookstore;

(b) assumption of the rental agreement for the 1100 square feet presently occupied by From My Shelf;

(c) full inventory and customer information;

(d) an experienced staff ready, willing, and able to continue to work at the discretion of the winner;

(e) Kasey and Kevin will be available for consulting work concerning the book business;

(f) return of $75 entry fee.

3. The winner of the essay contest must own and operate the bookstore for a period of one (1) year from the date of conveyance of the business, conditioned on the business not being operated as an adult bookstore selling soft or hard pornographic materials.

4. At the expiration of one (1) year of ownership or at any time Writer desires to sell or convey the business, Kevin J. Coolidge and Kathryn S. Cox be and are hereby granted a right of first refusal with regard to any such proposed sale. The Writer shall notify Kevin and Kasey in writing of any offer of sale which they wish to accept, and Kevin and Kasey will have a period of 30 days from receipt of said offer to agree to purchase or decide not to purchase the bookstore, and if they decide to purchase they will have an additional 30 days thereafter to close on the transaction.

5. In addition to the grand prize winner of the essay contest, there will be prizes for first, second, and third runner-ups: a $100 gift certificate to From My Shelf Books and Gifts; a $75 gift certificate to From My Shelf Books and Gifts, and a $50 gift certificate to From My Shelf Books and Gifts, respectively.

6. The terms and conditions of the essay contest are attached hereto and are incorporated herein by reference thereto.

7. The term “immediate families” as used in paragraph 2 of the terms and conditions shall mean siblings, parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles.

8. From My Shelf’s and Kevin and Kasey’s computers, Kevin’s wooden desk, and a few small shelves will not be included in the transfer to the winning Writer.


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have hereunto set their hands and seals.


WITNESS:

___________________________ ____________________________
Kathryn (Kasey) S. Cox

Date: ___________________

____________________________ ___________________________
Kevin J. Coolidge

Date: ______________________

____________________________ ___________________________
“Writer”
Date: _____________________





THE OFFICIAL CONTEST RULES FOR FROM MY SHELF BOOKS & GIFTS’ ESSAY CONTEST:

“Terms and Conditions” as follows:

1. SUBJECT-THEME: “Why is a bookstore important to the community?”

2. ELIGIBILITY: The Essay Contest may be entered by anyone eighteen years of age or older. The judges of the contest, owners of From My Shelf Books & Gifts (“Sponsors”), their current or former employees and the immediate families of those persons may NOT participate as an Entrant.

3. ESSAY ENTRY: A completed Essay Entry must include, 1) a completely filled out Entry Form; 2) an Entry Fee in the form of a bank cashier’s check, personal check, or money order payable to: From My Shelf Books & Gifts Essay Contest in the amount of $75.00 US Funds; 3) the Essay must conform to the Technical Requirements as set forth in Paragraph 4 below; and 4) two self-addressed stamped envelopes which shall be used first for acknowledgment to the Entrant of receipt of the entry, and the second envelope to notify the winner or to refund the entry fee if the essay contest is cancelled.

4. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: To be considered for the Essay Contest, each Essay must meet the following requirements: A. An original essay of the Entrant of 250 words or less, in English; B. Typed or Legibly hand-written; C. On one side of white 8 ½ by 11 paper; D. Nothing personally identifying the Entrant shall appear on the Essay; and E. The Essay must be attached to the Entry Form and the Entry Fee. All Entries shall be deemed received regardless of whether the Essay adheres to the Technical Requirements as set forth here-in. No Refunds shall be made by reason of non-compliance with the Technical Requirements of the Entry.

5. DEADLINE FOR CONTEST ENTRY: The Essay Contest Entries should be addressed to: From My Shelf Books & Gifts, 7 East Ave, Wellsboro, Pennsylvania 16901. To be considered for selection, the Essay Contest Entries must be postmarked on or before March 31, 2018, and must be delivered no later than April 15, 2018. The Sponsors reserve the sole right to extend the deadline of the Essay Contest Entry and determination of the winning entries for a period of up to sixty (60) days after March 31, 2018. Responsibility for lost, late, or misdirected entries rests with the Entrant. Any Essay Contest Entry posted after the deadline (plus any extension) shall be returned to the Entrant. The judging and determination of the Winning Essay and Runners-Up will begin on May 1, 2018, plus any extension.

6. CANCELLATION OF THE ESSAY CONTEST: In the event 4,000 Essay Contest Entries are not received by March 31, 2018 (plus any extension), the Sponsors will cancel the Essay Contest. The Sponsors hereby reserve the exclusive right, however, to accept less than the maximum 4,000 Essay Contest Entries and declare the Essay Contest Winner and Runners-Up.

7. JUDGING: The judging of the Essay Contest Entries shall not commence until the expiration of the Essay Contest Deadline, plus any extension. The Sponsors shall read and evaluate each and every Essay Contest Entry. Each Essay Contest Entry which meets the Technical Requirements as set forth herein, shall be judged on the basis of its structure (introduction, body, and conclusion), creativity, thought and the conveyance of the Entrant’s ability to express why a bookstore is important to the community. The Sponsors shall, in their sole and absolute discretion, select the top 100 Essay Contest Entries for further judging. The Sponsors shall engage an Independent Panel to judge the top 100 Essay Contest Entries. The identities of the Judges on the Panel shall not be released. The Independent Panel shall read and evaluate each of the top 100 Essay Contest Entries. Each of the top 100 Essay Contest Entries shall, once again, be judged on the basis of structure (introduction, body, and conclusion), creativity, thought and the conveyance of the Entrant’s ability to express why a bookstore is important to the community. After reading and evaluating each of the top 100 Essay Contest Entries, the Panel shall select the Winning Essay Contest Entry and Runners-Up ranked to twentieth place.

8. NOTIFICATION OF ESSAY CONTEST WINNER; ACCEPTANCE: Within 10 days after the selection of the Winning Essay and the Runners-Up, the Sponsor shall notify the Winning Essay Entrant via the self-addressed stamped envelope originally attached to the Contest Entry. The Winning Essay Entrant must notify the Sponsors of his/her acceptance of the Winning Prize within 30 days after notification of the Winning Essay. If the Winning Essay Entrant refuses or otherwise fails to accept the Winning Prize within 30 days after notification, the Winning Essay Entrant thereby forfeits the Winning Prize and the Sponsors will notify the First Runner-Up that his/her Essay Entry is the Winning Essay Entrant via the self-addressed stamped envelope originally attached to the Contest Entry. If the First Runner-Up refuses or otherwise fails to accept the Winning Prize within 30 days after notification, the First Runner-Up thereby forfeits the Winning Prize and the Sponsors will notify the Second Runner-Up and continue this procedure until a Runner-Up has acknowledged acceptance of the Winning Prize.

9. TAXES AND FEES: Upon acceptance of the Winning Prize, the Winning Entrant or Runner-Up, if applicable, shall be solely responsible for any and all taxes, including, but not limited to, income, real estate or transfer taxes or fees of any kind imposed upon Winning Entrant or Runner-Up, if applicable, which arise from the acceptance of the Winning Prize. The Winning Entrant or Runner-Up, if applicable, is encouraged to consult with their accountant or tax advisor prior to acceptance of the Winning Prize.

10. COPYRIGHT AND PUBLICATION: Essay Contest Entry constitutes an assignment to the Sponsors of all copyrights arising under both statute and the common law and all other rights derivative therefrom. By entering the Essay Contest, Entrants grant further permission for Sponsors to publish all or part of the submitted Essay and to use the Entrant’s name and photograph and to publicize the Winning Entries and the names of all the final 20 Essays, all without royalty or other consideration.

11. STATE, FEDERAL, AND INTERNATIONAL REGULATIONS: This Essay Contest is subject to the provision of all applicable International, Federal, State, and Local Laws and regulations. This offer and/or participation in this Essay Contest is void where prohibited.

12. CONVEYANCE OF WINNING PRIZE: Upon acceptance of the Winning Prize by the Essay Contest Winner or Runners-Up, if applicable, the Sponsors shall, within 30 days after acceptance of the Winning Prize, issue, in favor of the Essay Contest Winner, a Special Warranty Bill of Sale. The inventory, furnishings, signage, and equipment contained within From My Shelf Books & Gifts, shall be delivered to the Essay Contest Winner or Runner-Up, if applicable, free of all lien and encumbrances by Bill of Sale. The Essay Contest Winner or Runner-Up, if applicable, accepts the right, title and interest in the business, personal property, furnishings and equipment in AS IS condition and without any warranties whatsoever.

13. ACCEPTANCE OF CONTEST RULES; CHOICE OF LAW: By submitting an Entry in this Essay Contest, the Entrant accepts and agrees to be bound by these Essay Contest Rules. The Entrant agrees that any dispute arising out of or relating to this Essay Contest, the Essay Contest Rules or the Winning Prize shall be resolved in the courts of the State of Pennsylvania, County of Tioga. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States of America and the State of Pennsylvania.


FROM MY SHELF BOOKS & GIFTS OFFICIAL ESSAY CONTEST ENTRY FORM:
All Entries Must Be Accompanied By This Entry Form, as well as a SIGNED copy of “the Agreement”. Please print both documents out in full in order to mail in all relevant parts with your essay and entry fee.

PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY

Name:________________________________________________________________

Address:_______________________________________ Phone: (______)_________________

City: _________________________________ State: ______________ Zip: ________________

Email Address: _________________________________________________________________

Mail contest entries to: FROM MY SHELF BOOKS & GIFTS Essay Contest 7 East Ave., Suite 101, Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, 16901