I, Jerry Hartzler, owner of the Smokin' Award website, being of sound body and mind do hereby declare that:

• The Smokin' Award is an "Equal Opportunity" Awarder, and will not discriminate against or show favoritism of any kind to an applicant. Nor shall I accept any favors of any kind in exchange for giving an award.
  
  
• All applicants that meet the set minimum criteria will be eligible for the Smokin' Award.
  
  
• At no time will it ever be mandatory for an applicant to sign a Guest book, rank this site or join a mailing list in order to be eligible for this award.
  
  
• Judging an applicant's site shall be fair and uniform, solely based on the posted Criteria. A grade of tallied points from said criteria must be earned accordingly, and must match or exceed stated minimum point value in order to win an award.
  
  
• Afore mentioned criteria can change at any time without notice at my discretion. If said change(s) are made after an application is received, the submitted site will be evaluated using the criteria that had been in effect when the applicant initially submitted it.
  
  
• A site will be evaluated within two (2) weeks of receipt of submission. However, I reserve the right to suspend all submissions and current applications at any time. At such time a suspension notice will be posted and all current applicants will be notified.
  
  
• Both winners and non-winners will be notified of their award status, unless the application was not filled in correctly (e.g. The site is not railroad related or that the applicant is below the age of 13).
  
  
• All critiques given will be constructive in nature and will be made available to an applicant, free of charge, if he/she desires it. In all instances, I will remain positive in an effort to promote goodwill and advance the level of quality within the applicant's site.
  
  
• A professional, friendly and positive manner will be maintained in all correspondence with an Applicant.
  
  
• The information an applicant submits is considered private and will be used for award evaluation and notification purposes only. Unless the applicant wins, in which case the site name, URL and description can be used in the winners list on this site.
  
  
• There will be only one requirement for winning a Smokin' Award beyond meeting the Criteria and that is that the webmaster agrees to display the award prominently on the winning website, and that it be linked back to the Smokin' Award in a method outlined in the award notification e-mail. If an award is not displayed on a winning site after two (2) weeks it may be revoked.
  
  
• Once an award is posted on a winning site the site's name will be added to the Smokin' Award's winners list. There it will remain until the site no longer exists or if the award is removed.
  
  
• This site along with its sponsor site, "The Ol' Hook & Eye" will be maintained to a standard that meets the Smokin' Award Criteria.
  
  
• I agree that I will take all measures necessary to maintain the honor and integrity of the Smokin' Award's Program.
  
  

Jerry Hartzler, webmaster of the Smokin' Award.