FRAMINGHAM, MA – Dance. Don’t Chance. is a program of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) that aims to make the 2009 prom/graduation season safer for teens on Massachusetts roads.
Here’s How: Write and produce a 60-second video on safe driving which may be used as a public service announcement to help keep you, your friends, and other teens in Massachusetts safer on the road during prom/graduation season and year round. You must include the tagline: “Dance. Don’t Chance.”

Videos must also include these key messages:
• Underage drinking/impaired driving are illegal and dangerous
• Buckle up
• Don’t speed or drag race
• Avoid distracted driving, i.e. texting

You can find all the safe driving information you need to help produce your video, including statistics on teenage motor vehicle fatalities and injuries and safe driving tips, as well as last year’s winning video at the Dance. Don’t Chance. website www.mass.gov/safety/promshorts.

Each school can submit up to five entries. So get creative and let yours be one of them! Contact your principal, SADD advisor or class advisor to find out if your school is registered.

Submission Rules: An authorized representative, such as the school principal or his/her designee, must send an e-mail to Ethan Tavan at ethan.tavan@state.ma.us by 5:00 p.m. February 13, 2009 indicating that the school and its students would like to participate in the contest. The e-mail must include the name, title, address, telephone number, e-mail address and fax number of the authorized representative whom the school has designated to coordinate its participation in the contest.

Students may submit individual entries or may work as a group with up to five students in each group. Each school can submit up to five (5) entries, but each participating student/team of students may only submit one entry. Each submission must be attributed to an author(s) or else it will be assigned to the entire school.

All submissions must be screened by the authorized representative and be submitted to Dance. Don’t Chance. c/o Argus, 280 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210 by 5:00 p.m. March 13, 2009. All entries should be in QuickTime or WindowsMedia and burned onto a CD. No other formats will be accepted. Entrants must include their script in .doc format if a script is being used in the video.

Selection of Winner: Once all videos are submitted, students will be able to go online to the Dance. Don’t Chance. YouTube Channel, accessible through www.mass.gov/safety/promshorts, and rate their favorite videos.

The highest rated videos will be judged by JAM’N radio personalities who will select the winner on or about March 27, 2009. Winners will be notified by phone through the entrant’s school.

Prizes: The top video will be available through www.mass.gov/safety/promshorts and possibly on other websites and on community television stations. The winning entrant’s school, through its authorized representative (see above), will receive prizes listed below as determined by the EOPSS, including but not limited to:

• A JAM’N 94.5 DJ will play the tunes at the prom
• $1,000 cash prize for entrants’ prom committee from AAA Southern New England
• A 10-person limo to and from the prom, from Boston Limo
• Five tuxedo rentals from Men’s Wearhouse and Tux
• $100 Macy’s gift cards to be used for prom, for up to five people
• Hair styling services provided by Dellaria Salons for the prom, for up to five people
• Beverages from glacéau smartwater®

Eligibility: All entrants must be fully registered juniors or seniors at the high school from which the entry is submitted at the time of submission.

Other Rules and Regulations: The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material, including television programs, videos and music. Anyone who uses copyrighted material without a license or the copyright holder’s permission may be held liable for copyright infringement. In order to ensure that your video does not infringe on someone else’s copyright, all Dance. Don’t Chance video submissions must be the original work of the entrant, including,
but not limited to, any music used, videos shown, photographs displayed or skits performed. Submissions that do not adhere to these guidelines may be disqualified from the contest.

EOPSS reserves the right to change or cancel any or all of these prize elements with good cause. Further, EOPSS reserves the right to edit or even reject the winning entrants’ video. All entrants agree that by submitting their entries in the contest they give up the right to any compensation for their possible use as public service announcements. The winning entrants further agree to be available for media interviews, including having their images used by media outlets, which may result from publicity surrounding the contest.

By submitting an entry (ies) the school representative agrees that they have complied with the school’s privacy and media appearance policy for students and staff.

http://www.mass.gov/safety/promshorts