DALTON, Ga. — In late March, George Woodward resigned as president of the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce for personal reasons.

That same week, Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center Executive Director Rick Tanner resigned from his post amid rumors that he was forced out.

Now, Mr. Woodward has been enlisted to create a strategic plan for the Trade Center, which fell short of budget projections for the month of April.

“George has a wealth of contacts that will help us in our search for new business,” said Doug Phipps, the Trade Center’s acting director.

A respected figure in the community, Mr. Woodward was with the Chamber for 11 years. The Chamber’s executive board chairman Bill Jourdain has stressed Mr. Woodward was not asked to leave the Chamber.

Mr. Jourdain said that Mr. Woodward left the Chamber “in great shape” upon his departure.

The Trade Center, on the other hand, has seen more prosperous days.

Mr. Phipps said the facility has lost several events from Shaw Industries, including the carpet giant’s annual Corporate Pride Day, which generated $40,000 for the Trade Center the last time it was held.

“That was canceled for the first time this year, and we’ve performed that for them for the last 12 years,” Mr. Phipps said.

Shaw spokeswoman Mollie Allen said in an e-mail message that the company has switched to other event venues “to offer variety to meeting attendees.” She added, “We currently have events scheduled with the Trade Center and will continue to work with the Trade Center.”

Mr. Woodward’s job for the next six weeks will be to both develop a strategic plan and to help the Center better market itself. He’ll use his statewide contacts to bring in new business, including from state agencies.

“You have to build long-term relationships,” he said. “You have to constantly be in front of folks, so when things pick up, people will know what the facility has to offer.”

For his part, Mr. Tanner, the former Trade Center director, said he parted ways with his employer because Board members “felt it was time for a change, and they wanted to go in a different direction.”

“I would say the major differences were in sales and marketing ... (and) who should be making decisions on employment,” Mr. Tanner said.

Board Chairman Harvey Neal acknowledged that Mr. Tanner was slow to fill a sales and marketing position that had been open for nearly a year.

Mr. Woodward will work closely with the Trade Center’s new sales and marketing manager, Tiffany Sun, who started the job a little more than a month after Mr. Tanner left.