DALTON, Ga. — The resignation this week of Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce President George Woodward — who cited personal reasons — came unexpectedly, according to local officials and the chairman of his own board.
Bill Jourdain, chairman of the Chamber’s executive board, stressed that Mr. Woodward wasn’t asked to leave. “It was a surprise. And of course, the natural reaction is to be disappointed,” Mr. Jourdain said. “(But) the Chamber is in great shape.”
After 12 years with the Chamber, Mr. Woodward announced his immediate resignation Thursday.
Mr. Woodward joined the Chamber in 1996 as a vice president and was promoted to president in 1999.
Dalton Mayor David Pennington said Mr. Woodward took the helm at the Chamber during a time of instability. Before Mr. Woodward, the Chamber had had four presidents in five years, Mr. Pennington said.
“People were using this as a stop into something bigger,” said the mayor, who served as the Chamber’s board chairman in 1997. “He really professionalized the thing,” Mr. Pennington said. “He was a true Chamber professional, without a doubt.”
On Friday, Mr. Woodward did not return a call seeking comment.
Among those who were surprised by his resignation was Gaile Jennings, executive director of the Dalton-Whitfield Community Development Corp. Mr. Woodward is chairman of the board of that affordable-housing agency.
Ms. Jennings said she doesn’t “have a clue” why he may have left the Chamber, but said she hopes Mr. Woodward will stay on her agency’s board.
“From my perspective, he still has the knowledge,” she said, “whether he’s president of the Chamber or not.”
The Chamber’s executive board will form a committee to search for a new president — a search Mr. Jourdain said “could take on national scope.”
Meanwhile, 27-year Chamber veteran Phyllis Stephens, the vice president, will be interim president.
