Brandei Clifton is a Woman Who Means Business

Brandei Cifton’s Facebook cover photo reads: “Everyone has a story.” It’s not just a slogan. “I believe that with every ounce of my flesh,” she says. “Everyone has a story and needs to be celebrated.”

That conviction guided Clifton from the Kansas cornfields to Silver Dollar City, where she serves as senior publicity manager. Long before it became her job, the theme park was part of her life. When she was growing up, Branson was the only vacation her family ever took. They didn’t have much money, but her parents always scraped enough together for season passes. “Storytelling and Silver Dollar City stayed with me my whole life,” she shares.

Early on, Clifton was interviewing family members with hairbrush microphones, creating homemade newspapers and hosting imaginary cooking shows in cardboard boxes. Even the one time she was grounded as a child happened at Silver Dollar City, sparked by a misguided attempt to interview her sister using an ice cream cone.

After moving to Branson at age 10, Clifton studied journalism at Missouri State University and built a career in broadcast news, helping launch KOLR 10’s first 9 p.m. newscast. “Getting paid to tell stories was the coolest thing ever,” she says. Later, working in health care public relations, including years with CoxHealth in Branson through the COVID-19 pandemic, she learned how powerful—and sometimes heavy—storytelling could be. “I really found the grit in my life, and my thick skin,” she says.

When the publicity manager role opened at Silver Dollar City, Clifton hesitated. She was in her early 40s and didn’t want to be “new” again. But the park’s personal significance, and its endless stories, pulled her in. “I had always seen the park as a playground for journalists,” she says. “Everywhere you look, there’s a story.” The fit, she adds, was “a match made in absolute heaven.”

Soon after arriving, Clifton created Heart & Soul, a series spotlighting the often-overlooked people who make the park magical—from street sweepers in their 80s to candy makers with decades of service. The series gained national attention, including recognition from NBC’s Today Show, but for Clifton, the real reward circles back to her mantra: Everybody has a story. “I love celebrating those people who are never celebrated,” she says.

Her approach to PR is intentionally unpolished. “I hate the advice ‘fake it till you make it,’” she says. “I’m just weird, wacky, loud, colorful, joyful me. Your vibe attracts your tribe, and I’ve really found my place.”

That philosophy carries into how she leads, through her Play-Doh & Oranges publicity workshops and teaching students that authenticity—not perfection—can set organizations apart.

Outside the park, Clifton is a “crazy busy” wife, married to her college sweetheart, and mother of three sons, navigating life across family golf outings, college drop-offs and grade-school carpools. But the  thing she’s most proud of? “Building real, honest, intentional relationships,” she says.