SUMMIT COUNTY — The Summit County Builders Association awarded five individual scholarships totaling $2,000 at the Summit High School presentation ceremony on April 7th. This year’s recipients were Keegan Hebert, Richard Hays, Drew Beling, Daniel Chapman and Kurt Bohrer. In addition Erick Becerril continues to receive an annual grant from the SCBA for the pursuit of his construction management degree at Front Range Community College.

The Summit County Builders Association gives special consideration to those individuals planning to attend college and pursue degrees in the construction, architecture, or engineering professions. The SCBA is a nonprofit trade association representing our local building industry by providing continuing education and a forum for networking for our members, representing the building industry in local government and influencing the local legislative agenda, and promoting sound environmental building practices and community planning.

The SCBA congratulates the entire 2008 graduating class of Summit High School.

FRISCO — Local Summit County author, Bruce Fleet, has recently been signed by Penguin Books, one of the world’s largest publishers. Fleet is the author of “Demystifying Wall Street: Shedding a little light on the Bull!” and owner of Frisco-based Fleet Capital Management. Fleet’s second book should be released around the first of next year.

DILLON — Elevation Fitness, voted Summit County’s Best Health Club, now proudly offers great tasting, healthy, ready-to-cook entrees for your convenience. These delicious entrees feature all-natural, hand-trimmed meats, and the freshest vegetables, herbs and seasonings available. Stocking your freezer with these great tasting dinners saves you time shopping, preparing and cleaning up after your meal, creating more free time to enjoy life while saving you money.

Easy Entrees performs all the time–consuming tasks in the kitchen and offers 12 seasonal entrees each month. Simply thaw, follow the easy instructions on the package and in 20 minutes you have a wonderful made-from-scratch entrée on the table.

Simply stop by Elevation Fitness to pick up your dinner. Elevation Fitness is located at 124 Main St. Suite 101 in downtown Dillon. Or place an order by calling (970) 468-7597.

More than 79 million records were reported compromised in the U.S. in 2007, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. This is a fourfold increase from 2006. So far 2008 looks a lot like 2007, with major data breaches already reported at recognizable companies such as MTV and T. Rowe Price.

But data breaches strike small businesses just as often as Fortune 500 companies. Your Better Business Bureau advises that’s it’s important to know in advance what to do if you experience a security breach.

<b>Notify customers</b>

Currently, 39 states including Colorado and Wyoming, have laws that require customer notification in the event personal data is lost, stolen or inadvertently disclosed.

When a business informs customers about a security breach, it should describe the nature of the incident, explain what has been done to address the problem, and advise what the company will do in the future to reduce the chance of future security breaches.

<b>Notify law enforcement and other authorities</b>

It’s important to alert appropriate law enforcement officials immediately so they can investigate the incident. This includes local police, state authorities, or even the FBI. BBB recommends that companies check with their legal advisers now, so that in the event a breach does happen, they can act quickly.

BBB also recommends alerting the three national consumer reporting agencies: Equifax (www.equifax.com), TransUnion (www.transunion.com) and Experian (www.experian.com)

Businesses should also alert the bank or company hired to process payment cards. It’s important that compromised accounts are watched or closed to prevent fraud from occurring. Unfortunately, businesses could be liable for any resulting fraud, so quick notification to payment card companies can help.

<b>Customer support </b>

If a breach occurs, BBB advises that businesses encourage customers to monitor their credit reports for signs of identity theft. If a business can afford the expense, it should consider paying for a credit monitoring service for affected customers for a designated period of time (generally 6-12 months).

Also, recommend that any customer experiencing or suspecting identity theft alerts the business, files a police report, and notifies the three national consumer reporting agencies.

For more BBB advice on ID theft prevention and for trustworthy advice on many other issues affecting small businesses, go to www.bbb.org or call (970) 484-1348 or (800) 564-0371.