Red Hat Certified Professional of the Year award 2025

1. Contest Description

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Red Hat, Inc. ("Sponsor") is sponsoring the Red Hat Certified Professional of the Year Contest ("Contest") to recognize current Red Hat Certified Professionals who demonstrate ingenuity, hard work, and expertise. The Contest begins on September 15, 2024 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (“EDT”) and ends on November 30, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (“EST”) ("Term"). VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

2. Eligibility

To be eligible to enter the Contest, you must be: (1) an individual who holds a current Red Hat Certification prior to the start of the Contest, and must hold a current Red Hat Certification during the 2025 Red Hat Summit taking place May 12-15, 2025 ; (2) a legal resident of Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada (excluding Quebec), Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, or Uruguay; and (3) above the age of majority in your country, province, and/or state of legal residence at the time of entry or at least twenty years of age in Taiwan (“Contestant”). All residents of Brazil are eligible to enter. You must also have access to the Internet and a valid email address to enter the Contest. Employees, contractors, officers, and directors of Red Hat, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliated companies, and their immediate families and those living in their households are not eligible to enter. Government officials, employees or representatives of government entities, candidates for public office, and employees of state-owned enterprises are not eligible to enter. Government entities include government agencies, departments, branches, instrumentalities, and public enterprises whether national, regional or local. Government entities can also include:

• Government-owned or controlled schools, hospitals, utilities and other organizations that provide public services;
• Public international organizations, such as the United Nations or World Health Organization; or
• Entities that procure under public procurement laws and regulations.

A state-owned enterprise is any other type of entity not mentioned above that is owned, controlled, organized, or sponsored by a government entity or government official.

If you are entering as part of a company or on behalf of your employer, these rules are binding on you, individually, and/or your employer. If you are acting within the scope of your employment, as an employee, contractor, or agent of another party, you warrant that such party has full knowledge of your actions and has consented thereto, including your potential receipt of a Prize. You further warrant that you have the authority to grant the license described in Paragraph 10 and that your actions do not violate your employer's or company's policies and procedures.

3. How to Enter

To enter the Contest, Nominee (or Nominator, if Nominee is nominated by someone other than herself) must complete all required fields on the nomination form located at https://www.redhat.com/en/services/certification/rhcp/rhcp-of-the-year  (“Nomination”) during the Contest Term.

The Nomination must contain the following information about the Nominee: name; email address; employer; department; name and email address of the Nominee’s manager; job title; job role; Red Hat certification ID#; city, state, zip code, and country of residence; phone number; date of birth* (Canadian residents must provide their age, rather than their date of birth); and Red Hat certification(s) held. The Nomination must also contain the following information about the Nominator (if different than the Nominee): name; email address; employer; and how Nominator heard about the Red Hat Certified Professional of the Year Award. The Nomination must also include answers to open-ended questions explaining why the Nominee should receive the award (“Submission”). The Nomination should also indicate whether Nominee is employed by a Customer or a Partner.

If Nominee is nominated by a third-party Nominator, the Nominee will receive an email after the Nomination is submitted. The email will include a link for Nominee to follow in order to accept the Nomination. Nominee must then complete all required portions of the acceptance form, which will include filling out a Submission.

4. Privacy

You agree that your personal data that is provided to Sponsor during the Contest, including your name, mailing address, phone number, and email address may be processed, stored, and otherwise used for the purposes and within the context of the Contest. The collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information will at all times be governed by Sponsor’s privacy policy. This data will also be transferred to servers in the United States. By entering, you agree to the transmission, processing, and storage of this personal data in the United States.

5. Sponsor

Red Hat, Inc., located at 100 East Davie Street, Raleigh, North Carolina 27601, USA, is the sponsor of the Contest (“Sponsor”).

6. Submission of Nomination

LIMIT ONE (1) NOMINATION PER NOMINEE. Subsequent nominations will be disqualified. All Nominations become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned or acknowledged. Nominations are void if they are in whole or part illegible, incomplete, damaged, altered, counterfeit, manipulated or obtained through fraud. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, mutilated, incomplete, or illegible Nominations or email, or for any computer-related, online, telephonic, or technical malfunctions that may occur, regardless of whether or not such occurrences are within Sponsor's control.

7. Judging

The judging will consist of one (1) round taking place between December 2, 2024 and December 12, 2024. Submissions will be rated and ranked by a panel of experts in the field of business and open source technology (“Judges”).

The Judges will base their ratings and rankings on how well a Submission articulates the extent to which that Nominee’s RHCP certification allowed him/her to succeed, including quantifiable metrics and outcomes. Special consideration will be given to Nominee’s certification credentials and level of certification, overall customer or partner story, products and technologies used, services offerings utilized, project-based results and metrics, and open source community outreach.

The Contestant whose Submission receives the highest overall ranking from the Judges will be declared the 2025 Red Hat Certified Professional of the Year Award Winner. In the event that two (2) or more Contestants receive identical scores, the Contestant receiving the highest score from the Judges for the quality of narrative will be selected as the winner. In the event of a further tie between or among Contestants, each of the tied Contestants will receive the Prize and will share the Red Hat Certified Professional of the Year January 8th, 2025 (“Award Notification”). In the event that the potential winner's employer has a policy that prohibits the awarding of a prize to an employee, or the Award Notification is returned as undeliverable, or the potential winner does not respond within 72 hours from when the Award Notification was sent, then that potential winner will be disqualified and the Contestant whose Submission received the next highest overall ranking from the Judges will be selected as the potential winner.

The potential winner must sign an Affidavit of Eligibility and Release of Liability and/or Publicity Release (“Affidavit”), except where prohibited by law. The potential winner must fully execute and return the Affidavit within five (5) days of the Award Notification mailing date. The potential winner must also obtain written approval to use their company’s name in marketing materials (“Approval”). Approval must be sent to Sponsor via email within 10 business days of the Award Notification. If Sponsor does not receive the Affidavit within five (5) days, and/or does not receive the Approval, the potential winner will be disqualified and Sponsor will select as the potential winner the Contestant receiving the next highest ranking from the Judges.

The Winner will have a summary of his or her accomplishments and reasoning behind winning posted on the RHCP of the Year website.

8. Prize

At the 2025 Red Hat Summit:

The winner will receive: (i) a complimentary pass to the 2025 Red Hat Summit; (ii) round-trip airfare (coach) between the city that the 2025 Red Hat Summit will take place and the major airport closest to the Winner's residence; (iii) double-occupancy hotel accommodation for four (4) nights; (iv) access to all Red Hat Summit sessions, conference meals, and special events; and (v) a 1-year subscription to Red Hat Learning Subscription (Premium). The Red Hat Summit pass, airfare, hotel accommodation, and Red Hat Learning Subscription are collectively referred to herein as “In-Person Prize.” The Winner will also receive a 2025 Red Hat Certified Professional of the Year plaque or trophy and will be honored during the 2025 Red Hat Summit. The Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) of the In-Person Prize is $15,000 USD.

The above  are collectively referred to herein as “Prize” or “Prizes.” 

No substitution, cash substitution, or assignment or transfer of the Prize is permitted, except by Sponsor for reason of unavailability, in which case a prize of equal or greater value will be awarded. The Prize consists of only those items specifically listed above as part of the Prize. Prize is awarded without warranty of any kind from Sponsor, express or implied, without limitation, except where this would be contrary to federal, state, provincial, or local laws or regulations. Winner is solely responsible for all taxes, costs, and fees associated with the Prize. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received and the skill of the Contestants.

9. Condition of Participation

By entering the Contest, you agree to be bound by the terms of these Official Rules and you confirm that you meet all eligibility requirements listed herein. You agree that all federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations apply. By registering for the Contest, you agree that these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor are final and binding on all matters pertaining to this Contest.

Except where prohibited by law, Winner's acceptance of the Prize constitutes permission for the Sponsor and its agencies to use the Winner's Submission, name and/or likeness for advertising and promotional purposes, in any media now known or hereafter devised, without further notice, compensation, consideration, review, or consent, and without regard to moral rights.

To the extent permitted by law, all registered Contestants agree to hold Sponsor, its respective directors, officers, employees and assigns harmless for any injury or damage caused or claimed to be caused by participation in the Contest and/or use or acceptance of the Prize. Sponsor is not responsible for any typographical or other error in the printing of the offer, administration of the Contest, or announcement of the Prize. If, in Sponsor's opinion, there is any suspected or actual evidence of electronic or non-electronic tampering with any portion of the Contest, or if technical difficulties compromise the integrity of the Contest, the Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest. Any attempt to deliberately damage the content or operation of this Contest is unlawful and subject to legal action by Sponsor or its agents. You may be prohibited from participating in this Contest if Sponsor, in its sole discretion, reasonably believes that you have attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, deception, or other unfair playing practices, or have annoyed, abused, threatened, or harassed any other Contestants, Sponsor, or associated agencies. In the event a potential winner's employer has a policy that prohibits the awarding of a prize to an employee, the Prize will be forfeited.

10. License

As a condition of entry, Contestant grants Sponsor and its licensees an irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license, for the duration of protection of the rights, to use, reproduce, distribute, translate, publicly perform, publicly display and create a derivative work from Contestant's Submission. Contestant also waives all moral rights in the Contestant's Submission to the extent such rights are waivable. Contestant also agrees to allow Sponsor to publish his or her name in correlation with the Submission. In addition, before being declared a Winner, a French potential winner must sign an assignment of copyright. All Contestants agree to execute any further documents as necessary to effect the preceding license.

11. Release of Liability

By participating, all Contestants release Sponsor, its affiliates, parent, and subsidiary companies, its employees, agents and officers, advertising and promotion agencies, licensees, as well as all others associated with the development and execution of this Contest, from and against any and all liability with respect to or in any way arising from the Contest and the awarding and use of the Prize, or in connection with the use, modification, or publication of the Submission. Sponsor assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, or delay in operation or transmission; communications line failure; theft or destruction of or unauthorized access to Nominations; or alteration of Nominations.

12. Governing Law

This Contest is subject to all federal, state, and local laws. This Contest and Official Rules are governed and interpreted by the laws of the State of North Carolina, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

13. Official Rules/List of Winners

The Official Rules and names of the Winner and Runner-Up will be posted online at: 
https://www.redhat.com/en/services/certification/rhcp/rhcp-of-the-year  and 
http://www.redhat.com/en/services/certification/rhcp/rhcp-of-the-year/rules.