Animal Welfare Heroes, 2023

Burton Fletcher, the judges, the foundation’s directors, and the Burton Fletcher Foundation for Animals, Inc. have complete discretion over whether to grant the awards above. Burton Fletcher shall make the final determination regarding all awards.

Contest Period:

Contest nominations are accepted on January 1, 2023, until the competition ends on February 15, 2023, at noon.

Competition Eligibility:

Internet access and email address are required for participation.

The contest is open to legal residents in the South Georgia Counties plus the North Florida Counties of Hamilton, Suwannee, Madison, and Columbia, who are at least eighteen (18) years old. Employees, immediate family, or household members of The Burton Fletcher Foundation for Animals, Inc., or its affiliated entities are not eligible to enter.

How to Nominate:

Visit this contest on www.BurtonFletcherFoundation.org  to nominate. A nominee may be either an individual or an organization. All nominations must include the individual’s name or organization name (if applicable), and email address of the nominated person or organization and the nominator on the entry form submitted on the foundation’s website. Entries missing any required information will be disqualified.

In 1,000 words or less, describe why your nominee is the Animal Welfare Hero for 2023. The nomination document should tell the complete story of a nominee’s activities and contributions to animal welfare to help or save homeless and unwanted animals.

Any person may submit  nominations for individuals or organizations who meet the nomination requirements. Nomination details can be changed through midnight of February 14, 2023, before the final day of the competition. Before submitting a nomination, please coordinate with any nominee to complete the entry fully and accurately.

The nomination document should tell the complete story of a nominee’s activities and contributions to animal welfare to help or save homeless and unwanted animals. Specific examples and details are essential and increase a nominee’s chances of becoming a winner. Extensive community recognition and promotion are additional benefits to nominees in this contest.

The use of automated systems is prohibited and will result in disqualification. The foundation is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, invalid, illegible, false, or misdirected nominations.

Nomination & Judging Criteria:

After the nomination deadline, February 15, 2023 at noon, the judges and Burton Fletcher, founder, and president of the Burton Fletcher Foundation for Animals, Inc., will evaluate all eligible nominations. Judging will be based upon these criteria: successful animal welfare activity, rescue, or adoptions of homeless, unwanted, or abused animals or those in other critical situations, grant writing, sponsorships, donations, fostering, volunteering, communications, and other significant support efforts.

How to Vote:

Visit the foundation’s website at www.BurtonFletcherFoundation.org.

Anyone can vote, and no nomination or purchase is required. Individuals may vote up to five (5) times, but only once for each nominee.

On the Nomination Form on the right side will be a tab for nominated entrants. Click on the tab to review each hero who has been nominated.

Awards:

There will be Top Winners and their chosen nonprofit animal welfare organization.

The theme of this year’s competition is to recognize individuals who have contributed to improving animal welfare and saving homeless animals. The top placement winners and their nonprofit animal welfare organization will benefit from extensive community recognition along with website, social media and newspaper publicity. Other winners may be named and receive honorable mention status. All winners will receive an award certificate.

Rules:

There is a limit of one competition winner per person or nomination submitted for the top three honors, though individuals may earn more than one award for subordinate honors.

By entering the competition, participants grant the foundation all permissions necessary and royalty-free to display, post, publish or broadcast in all media or otherwise use the submitted nomination information for promotion and marketing. This includes, but is not limited to, property, copyrights, trademarks, or other rights in materials or other items.

Submitted information should not be offensive, threatening, defamatory, or libelous. Nor should it contain offensive, violent, indecent, sexual, abusive, or discriminatory content, not in compliance with the community-oriented nature of this competition.

Submitted information must not contain material that infringes upon, infracts, or misappropriates any law or regulation or the rights of any third party. It must not violate any publicity rights, privacy, or other intellectual property or proprietary rights.

Participation in the competition constitutes full and unconditional agreement to all rules, including the judges’ and sponsor’s decisions, which are final and binding. Winning is contingent upon fulfilling all contest requirements.

Winner Notification:

Competition winners will be notified by email at the addresses provided on the entry form. If a winner cannot be contacted within five (5) days after the date of the first contact attempt, or the notification is returned as undeliverable by mail, the winning is forfeited. The sponsor reserves the right to award the winning to another nominee.

The Burton Fletcher Foundation for Animals, Inc. will determine the winners within four weeks after the contest’s conclusion on February 15, 2023, at noon.

General Conditions:

The sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend or modify the competition if necessary or disqualify any individual who violates contest rules.

Release and Limitations of Liability:

By participating in the competition, nominators and nominees agree to release and hold harmless the sponsor and affiliated entities, free from any claim arising from participation.

Disputes:

Any claims regarding the validity or enforceability of the contest rules, rights, and obligations of nominators and nominees or the sponsor shall be governed in Valdosta, Georgia, and by the State of Georgia and U.S. laws Federal Laws.

Collection & Use of Personal Information:

Entry into the competition constitutes agreement to the sponsor’s collection, use, and disclosure of the nominator and nominee’s personal information submitted on the entry form. Information includes but is not limited to names, addresses, photos, likenesses, and statements for publicity and marketing.

Thank you for supporting animal welfare in our community and participating in this competition to recognize and honor The Animal Welfare Heroes of 2023.