Donald W. Comer Jr. has been appointed as chairman of the TowneBank Portsmouth/Suffolk board of directors.

A graduate of Roanoke College, Comer was president of Don Comer Ford, where he worked for 30 years.

He is the past president and current vice president of the Portsmouth Partnership, as well as a trustee and program facilitator for the Lefcoe Leadership Foundation. Comer also served as vice president of the Southeast Virginia Community Foundation. He was recognized as Portsmouth’s First Citizen in 2009.

The bank also recently announced staff promotions at its Suffolk campus.

Tracy J. Nelms has been promoted to executive vice president, Bryan Steele has been promoted to senior vice president, and Sara Twiford has been promoted to assistant vice president.

Nelms manages deposit and electronic channels in Suffolk. She has been with TowneBank for 16 years and has more than 35 years of industry experience. She is a graduate of the Virginia Bankers Association School of Bank Management.

Steele is part of the credit administration team in Suffolk. He has 10 years of banking experience and is a graduate of Mississippi State University, the TowneBank Management Associate Program and the VBA School of Bank Management at UVA.

Steele is an active member of the Hampton Roads community, currently serving as a coach with the Hampton Roads Hurricanes and York County Little League baseball teams, as well as the York-Seaford Bulldogs football team.

Twiford is part of the Treasury and merchant sales team in Suffolk. She has been with TowneBank for 10 years and is a graduate of East Carolina University as well as TowneBank’s Management Associate program.

Twiford volunteers her time with the Salvation Army’s Toys for Tots program, the Out of the Darkness Walk and Believers Church.