Have You Ordered Your Difference Makers Tickets?

HOLYOKE — The eighth annual Difference Makers award program, staged by BusinessWest, sister publication of HCN, will be held at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House on Thursday, March 31.

Difference Makers is a program, launched in 2009, that recognizes groups and individuals that are, as the name suggests, making a difference in this region. This year’s class was profiled in the Jan. 25 issue, and their stories can also be read online at businesswest.com. They include Hampden County Sheriff Michael J. Ashe Jr.; Mike Balise, Balise Motor Sales, philanthropist (1965-2015); Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties; Bay Path University President Carol Leary; and John Robison, president of J.E. Robison Service and an internationally known advocate for people with autism.

Tickets cost $60, and tables of 10 are available. To reserve a spot, call (413) 781-8600, ext. 10, or visit businesswest.com. Difference Makers is sponsored by EMA Dental, First American Insurance Agency, Health New England, Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C., Northwestern Mutual, PeoplesBank, Royal LLP, and Sunshine Village.