The Howard County Chamber of Commerce is used to helping point business owners in the right direction, but now the chamber is looking for guidance, and answers likely won't come quickly.

The board of directors is scheduled to have a retreat next week to evaluate itself, plan for the next 18 months, and discuss the problems the group has faced in the past several months - the sudden resignation of its president and chief executive officer, and financial instability that left the group wondering if it would have to move its headquarters from its space in Columbia's Town Center.

Donna M. Richardson, the newly elected board chairwoman, said defining a course for the chamber's future would take time.

"My biggest thing is to shore up our foundation of what ... we're doing and also do a little review," said Richardson, the government and public affairs manager of Comcast Cable Inc. "We've had a lot of changes. I think we need to take a step back and review what we've accomplished and what we can improve on."

Four months after Kenneth Williams resigned suddenly as president and CEO of the chamber, leaving the organization struggling financially, the board of directors has not named a permanent successor, but it is expected today to offer a contract to Kara Calder - former vice president who has served in the interim.

Calder said the business group has met many of its goals to balance the budget and keep its offices in Town Center, but the board will need a plan to build on those achievements.

"I think one of the outcomes of the retreat will be working toward putting together a business plan that will cover the entire organization over the next 18 to 20 months," she said. "We really need to talk about running the organization as a business. That's one of the things we'll be positioned for when we come out of the retreat."

Among the things to be discussed is staffing. The board has agreed to hire a member services and community affairs coordinator, but every other job at the chamber has been under evaluation, according to former board Chairman Michael T. Galeone. He said the board created a committee to re-evaluate all staff positions, assessing the workload and requirements for staff members.

Since Williams left the chamber in February, the business group has been trying to bail itself out of a financial quagmire partly because of the national economic slowdown and also because the group spent its financial reserves several years ago and failed to replenish them.

Calder has been under pressure to cut spending as membership dues - which made up about 60 percent of last year's budget - declined, making apparent the group's lack of reserve funds.

In that time, the chamber has reduced spending on staff by about 40 percent, Calder said, retained about 25 percent of the members whose dues had lapsed and added more than 40 new members since March.

The group also renegotiated its lease to eliminate 1,100 square feet of office space, at a savings of between $25,000 and $30,000, she said. The chamber created a membership-retention program to increase retention from about 70 percent to 85 percent, Calder said.

"We have made a lot of progress in four months," she said. "Where we go from here is up to the board. We still have challenges and things that need attention and close scrutiny but I think we've turned a corner."

But the board is in transition.

Richardson replaced Galeone to lead the board of directors, and five new members joined the board. The chamber is polling members now as part of an organizational assessment, Richardson said.

"The goal is to review where we are. Our take on things may be different than what our members are seeing," she said. "We're looking at every aspect of the organization. What needs to improve. What needs to go away. The ultimate goal is to provide the best service to our members."

New to the board this year are Arthur H. Jacoby of Acceleration Strategies, Peter H. Li of Earth Resources Technology Inc., Matthew G. Manders of Cigna HealthCare of the Mid-Atlantic and Deborah Stallings of HR Anew.

Joseph J. Mezzanotte of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP replaced Joe Wagner of Whitmore Print and Imaging, who resigned midterm.

Steven W. Sachs of Hobbs Group Inc. and Kevin Kelehan of Reese and Carney LLC left the board because their terms expired. Galeone, whose term also expired, will continue to serve as a nonvoting member.