J. J. Keller® SPOTY (Safety Professional of the Year) Award Competition - Official Rules

Click here to view the SPOTY rules in Canadian French.

1. TO ENTER: The J. J. KELLER SPOTY AWARDS COMPETITION (the “Awards Competition”) is designed to recognize the most innovative approaches implemented by professionals in the safety field to increase safety awareness and culture in the workplace and promote the creation of a safer workplace. The Awards Competition begins on June 1, 2025, at 12:00:01 a.m. Central Time and ends on July 31, 2025, at 5:00:00 p.m. Central Time (the “Entry Period”). During the Entry Period, visit JJKeller.com/SPOTY (the “Site”), complete the official entry form (the “Application”) with your answers to all of the questions in the Application. The responses must be in English, must involve the entrant in the entrant’s capacity as a professional in the safety field, and must comply with the additional requirements set forth in these Official Rules. Sponsor’s designated computer is the official time clock for this Awards Competition. The responses to the questions submitted in the Application, as well as any other content or information submitted by an entrant, are referred to as a “Submission” or “entry.” No entries may be submitted on behalf of another person. Limit one entry per person. An individual participating in any aspect of this Awards Competition is sometimes referred to in these Official Rules as an “entrant.” BY PARTICIPATING IN ANY ASPECT OF THIS AWARDS COMPETITION, EACH ENTRANT AGREES TO ABIDE BY THESE OFFICIAL RULES AND AFFIRMS THAT THE POLICIES OF SUCH ENTRANT’S EMPLOYER PERMIT THE ENTRANT TO ENTER THE AWARDS COMPETITION, SUBMIT ENTRANT’S SUBMISSION, AND, IF THE ENTRANT IS DEEMED A WINNER, TO ACCEPT A PRIZE IN THE AWARDS COMPETITION. AN ENTRANT’S ENTRY INTO THIS AWARDS COMPETITION IS A REPRESENTATION THAT THE ENTRANT HAS COMPLIED WITH THESE OFFICIAL RULES. FAILURE TO ABIDE BY THESE OFFICIAL RULES WILL VOID AN ENTRANT’S SUBMISSION IN THE AWARDS COMPETITION.


2. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS: The Awards Competition is open to legal residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia, and Canada, who are of at least 21 years of age or older as of the date of submission and a safety professional (“Safety Professional”) and whose employer has purchased goods or services from J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc. such in the 12 months before the date of the announcement of the Awards Competition. For purposes of this Awards Competition “Safety Professional” means an individual who is a paid professional with official and primary responsibilities relating to maintaining workplace safety. Those employed by J. J. Keller business competitors, as solely determined by J. J. Keller, are not eligible. Employees, contractors, directors and officers of Sponsor, its subsidiary and affiliated entities, advertising, and fulfillment agencies involved in the administration, development, fulfillment, and execution of this Awards Competition (collectively, “Awards Competition Parties”), and the immediate family members and/or those living in the same household of any such persons or entities are not eligible. For these Official Rules, “immediate family” means mother, father, siblings, children, wards, grandparents, grandchildren, and the “step” relationships of each of the foregoing, domestic partners and spouses, including common law spouses, regardless of where they reside. The Awards Competition is subject to all applicable federal, state, provincial and local laws. Void where prohibited or where restricted by law in a manner inconsistent with these Official Rules. An entrant who has received a J. J. Keller Safety Professional Awards from Sponsor in the last five (5) years is ineligible to enter this Awards Competition.


3. DETERMINATION OF WINNERS: A panel of judges selected by Sponsor (the “Judges”) will judge the Submissions submitted during the Entry Period and assign a numerical score based upon their assessment of the innovation of the entrant’s approach(es) to increasing the level of safety awareness in the workplace and effectiveness in the creation of a safer workplace by applying the following equally weighted criteria: Proven Safety Leadership & Success; Innovative Methods to Improve Safety (the “Judging Criteria”). In the event that two or more Submissions are tied after the judging by Sponsor’s Judges, Sponsor’s Judges will re-judge such tied entries based on the sole criterion of Safety Metric Improvement to determine which of the tied entries has the highest score and, subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with the Official Rules (including the timely return of the required Affidavit), the highest- scoring Submissions for each of the following employer categories: Small (less than 200 employees), Medium (200 to 5,000 employees) and Large (5,000 or more employees) employers will receive the corresponding prize indicated below. Sponsor may, at its election, require an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability and Publicity Release (the “Affidavit”) from any Entrant as a condition to awarding any prize in this Awards Competition. An Entrant, at his or her sole discretion, may disclaim the applicable prize by not claiming such prize or not completing and returning to Sponsor the Sponsor’s Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability and Publicity Release within seven (7) days of attempted notification and in such case an alternate winner will be determined (subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with the Official Rules (including the timely return of the required Affidavit)) based upon the next highest scored Submission in the company size category for the unclaimed prize.
   
   In order to receive a prize, a selected entrant must participate in a recorded interview which Sponsor may broadcast, stream and distribute, highlighting the safety achievements of the entity described in the entrant’s Submission. The interview will be conversational and is intended to highlight achievements in safety. The video may be edited for clarity and coherence, including the removal of filler words and false starts.


4. REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSIONS. Submissions must comply with these Official Rules. All Submissions must be suitable for family audiences. Without limitation, this means that the Submission must not contain any material, words or other content that: is indecent, obscene, hateful, tortious, defamatory, slanderous or libelous; promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age; contains profanity or sexual content; promotes alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms or weapons; promotes any third party product or service or otherwise contains commercial messages or endorsements regarding third party products or services; is unlawful, in violation of or contrary to the laws or regulations of the United States or Canada; has been copied or plagiarized; is proprietary to a third party, contains any third party content, or otherwise defames, violates or infringes (or may infringe) any copyright, trademark, logo, mark or other identifier of source, or other proprietary right of any entity or person (whether living or deceased) (including but not limited to, rights of privacy or publicity or portrayal in a false light); and/or is lewd or inappropriate or offensive or not in keeping with Sponsor’s image, including acts that are objectionable to Sponsor. All Submissions must be the sole, original work of the entrant; Any Submission that, in Sponsor’s sole and absolute discretion, violates any of the above or other prohibitions and/or representations or warranties of entrant may be disqualified from the Awards Competition or removed by Sponsor. In the event that an entrant or Submission is edited, removed and/or disqualified, entrant is not relieved from responsibility for compliance with these Official Rules. Entrants and winners acknowledge and agree that Sponsor has the right to edit, adapt, modify, reproduce, promote and otherwise use or not use (or remove) Submissions in any way it sees fit without notification or further consent or payment of any kind.


5. RIGHTS IN SUBMISSIONS: By entering the Awards Competition, you agree that (a) you have read or had read to you these Official Rules and are in agreement with them, (b) you have received permission for the use of the name, likeness and image of all identifiable people and places appearing in your submitted Submission and to grant to Sponsor the rights contemplated in the Official Rules. By submitting a Submission in connection with the Awards Competition you represent and warrant to Sponsor that (i) your Submission is your own, that you are the author of the submitted Submission and that you have the right to submit it to the Awards Competition; (ii) your Submission does not violate in any way rights of third parties, including but not limited to copyright and other intellectual property, privacy or publicity rights; (iii) your Submission does not violate any applicable laws; (iv) you have obtained all necessary licenses or permissions from all applicable third parties, including your employer, if applicable, that are required for the production and submission of the Submission in the Awards Competition and use by Sponsor as contemplated in these Official Rules; (v) the posting and/or display of your Submission or other use by Sponsor or those deriving rights through Sponsor will not violate the rights of any parties or otherwise breach any provision of any applicable law or regulation or your obligations to your employer; (vi) Sponsor has your irrevocable permission for the posting of any and all information included in your Submission in connection with any permitted use of your Submission (provided, however, that your email and phone number will not be posted by Sponsor); and (vii) use and posting of the Submission or any part of the Submission provided by you in any manner in connection with the Awards Competition or as otherwise permitted by these Official Rules may be made without any notice, review, approval, consideration or compensation (except for any awarded prize as contemplated in these Official Rules), regardless of whether your Submission is a winning Submission. By submitting your Submission to Sponsor in connection with the Awards Competition you agree to and thereby waive any and all moral rights that exist in your Submission and any derivative works made therefrom. All entrants hereby grant to Sponsor an everlasting, royalty-free, assignable, irrevocable, unrestricted license to use, utilize, replicate, alter, adapt, modify, publish, perform, broadcast, translate, produce derivative works from, distribute, present, display, sublicense and exercise all copyright and other intellectual property and other rights with respect to each Submission worldwide and/or to include, in part or in whole, each Submission in other works in any media now known or later created, anywhere and forever, including in connection with promoting and advertising of and by Sponsor, without further review, notice, approval, consideration or compensation. Except where legally prohibited, by submitting your Submission you irrevocably agree that your name, title and organization and employer and city / state / province of work and residence may be used in connection with the permitted use of the rights contemplated by this paragraph. In Sponsor’s sole discretion, anyone appearing in or referenced in the Submission may be required to execute and return consent forms / releases confirming the representations, warranties and grants of rights contemplated in the Official Rules.


6. PRIZES: The following prizes will be awarded for each winning entrant in each size category (for the highest scoring submission complying with Official Rules):
   • Donation of USD $1,000 (one thousand U.S. dollars) to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization designated by the entrant of such Submission (See Section 7 for additional information about eligible designations.)
   • A SPOTY Awards plaque
   • USD $750 toward J. J. Keller® SAFEGEAR® PPE
   • A choice of one of the following:
     1. A free one-year subscription to the J. J. Keller® SAFETY MANAGEMENT SUITE for the winner and their staff (up to 10 users), including 500 e-learning training enrollments per user plus data sharing across users (to be used by May 31, 2026)
     2. A free one-year membership to J. J. Keller Compliance Network®, including the winner’s choice of a Hazmat Edge or Environmental Edge upgrade
     3. A free one-year Advanced Plus subscription to J. J. Keller® Training Management Center, with up to 2,499 enrollments and a virtual reality headset
     4. A free one-year, one-seat subscription to J. J. Keller® Leave Manager, with the integration of the winner’s HRIS system
   Prizes are nontransferable and no substitution of prize by a winner is allowed. Sponsor reserves the right to award prize (or portion of prize) of equal or greater value, in its sole discretion. Sponsor and the Awards Competition Parties assume no responsibility or liability for damages, losses, or injury resulting from acceptance or use of prize or participation in the Awards Competition. Sponsor reserves the right to request from any entrant additional documentation it reasonably believes is necessary to validate any Submission or to award any prize. All federal, state, provincial and local taxes and any expenses, costs, or fees associated with the acceptance and/or use of any prize are the sole responsibility of the winner. Total value of all prizes to be awarded in this Awards Competition ranges from USD $6,645 to $47,200, depending on prizes selected by the winners.


7. NONPROFIT ORGANZIATION DESIGNATIONS: Nonprofit organizations eligible for donation designation by the winning entrant must NOT be: (i) ones in which the winning entrant receives a personal benefit or goods/services, such as tickets to athletics events, meals for athletic, cultural, or social or other fundraising events, entry fees for golf outings, sporting tournaments, walk-a-thons, or other fundraising events, fees for a services, subscription fees for publications; (ii) related to Donor Advised Funds; (iii) related to religious or political purposes; (iv) an individual or private foundation; (v) educational institutions, including but not limited to public, parochial or private K-12 schools, four-year colleges and universities, two-year junior and community colleges and graduate or professional schools, vocational and technical institutes accredited by a recognized regional or professional accrediting agency, preschools or day-care facilities; (vi) those currently or formerly engaged in illegal activity; (vii) in conflict with J. J. Keller’s purpose or intent. Notwithstanding the above, J. J. Keller reserves the right to refuse or allow a nonprofit organization donation at its sole discretion.


8. GENERAL CONDITIONS: By participating, entrants agree to these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor with respect to the Awards Competition and the awarding of any prize(s), which shall be final and binding in all respects. Sponsor and its agents are not responsible for late, lost, illegible, unintelligible, or postage-due communications, technical, hardware, software or other malfunctions of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, or failed, incorrect, incomplete, inaccurate, garbled or delayed electronic communications or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in this Awards Competition, or by any human error which may occur in the processing of the Submissions in this Awards Competition, or for any liability for damage to any computer system resulting from participation in, or accessing or downloading information or applications in connection with this Awards Competition. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. If, for any reason, the Awards Competition is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Awards Competition process, then Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel or modify the Awards Competition. If a court of competent jurisdiction deems any provision of these Official Rules invalid or unenforceable, such provisions shall be enforced to the maximum extent permitted and the remaining provisions of the Official Rules shall remain in full force and effect.


9. UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT: Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual that tampers or attempts to tamper with the operation of the Awards Competition; violates the Official Rules, or acts in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person. Any use or attempt to use multiple e-mail accounts or other tactics to enter more than the stated limit of this Awards Competition may result in disqualification and all associated entries will be void. Each Submission must be entered by the individual entrant.


10. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY AND RELEASE: BY PARTICIPATING IN ANY ASPECT OF THE AWARDS COMPETITION, YOU AGREE TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW TO RELEASE AND HOLD HARMLESS SPONSOR, THE AWARDS COMPETITION PARTIES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE PARENT, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATED ENTITIES, AGENTS, AND ALL OF THEIR RESPECTIVE SHAREHOLDERS, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES AND ASSIGNS, MEMBERS, REPRESENTATIVES AND AGENTS (COLLECTIVELY, THE “RELEASED PARTIES”), FROM AND AGAINST ANY CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF PARTICIPATION IN ANY PART OF THE AWARDS COMPETITION (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, PREPARING FOR OR PARTICIPATING IN OR SUBMITTING ANY ENTRY AND/OR FROM ANY AWARDS COMPETITION RELATED ACTIVITY) OR RECEIPT OR USE OF ANY PRIZE, INCLUDING PROPERTY DAMAGE, PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH. EACH ENTRANT FURTHER AGREES THAT IN ANY CAUSE OF ACTION, THE RELEASED PARTIES’ LIABILITY WILL BE LIMITED TO THE OUT OF POCKET COST OF PARTICIPATING IN THE AWARDS COMPETITION, AND IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AWARDS COMPETITION PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES, PUNITIVE, CONSEQUENTIAL, DIRECT OR INDIRECT DAMAGES AND EACH ENTRANT WAIVES THE RIGHT TO CLAIM ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER. YOU HEREBY WAIVE ALL RIGHTS AND RELEASE EACH OF THE RELEASED PARTIES FROM ANY CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION, WHETHER NOW KNOWN OR UNKNOWN, OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DEFAMATION, INVASION OF RIGHT TO PRIVACY, PUBLICITY OR PERSONALITY OR ANY SIMILAR MATTER, RELATING TO THE AWARDS COMPETITION, THE OPERATION THEREOF, OR ANY SUBMISSION, OR BASED UPON OR RELATING TO THE USE AND EXPLOITATION OF THE SUBMISSION AS CONTEMPLATED HEREIN, EITHER INTENTIONALLY OR OTHERWISE. YOU HEREBY REPRESENT AND WARRANT THAT YOU HAVE READ THESE OFFICIAL RULES AND ARE FULLY FAMILIAR WITH THEM.


11. APPLICABLE LAWS AND JURISDICTION: Issues concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules shall be governed by the laws of the State of Wisconsin. All disputes arising out of or connected with this Awards Competition will be resolved individually, and without resort to class action, exclusively by the exclusive personal jurisdiction and venue of the Circuit Court of Winnebago County, Wisconsin, USA and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, USA. Should there be a conflict between the laws of the State of Wisconsin and any other laws, the conflict will be resolved in favor of the laws of the State of Wisconsin. All judgments or awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket damages (excluding attorneys’ fees) associated with participation in this Awards Competition and shall not include any indirect, punitive, incidental and/or consequential damages.


12. WINNERS LIST: To receive a copy of the Winner’s List by mail, send a self-addressed stamped envelope (except where not required by applicable law) or IRC for Canadian residents to: Sponsor at the Awards Competition Address. Limit one request per outer mailer which should be marked “J. J. KELLER SPOTY AWARDS COMPETITION Winners List Request.” Requests must be received by December 31, 2026. Limit one request per outer mailer. SPONSOR: This Awards Competition is sponsored by J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc. (“Sponsor”), 3003 Breezewood Lane, Neenah, WI 54957 (the “Awards Competition Address”).

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