Hiltons of Branson hires new GM

Hiltons of Branson has selected a new general manager to lead the city-owned Branson Convention Center and attached hotel, as well as the adjacent Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing.

Jay Campbell started with Hilton about a month ago, moving from his post as general manager of the Radisson Branson Hotel. With nearly 30 years of hotel and restaurant experience, Campbell succeeds Bill Derbins, who left to take a position as general manager of the Chase Park Plaza hotel in downtown St. Louis, according to John O'Connor, public relations account manager for Geile/Leon Marketing Communications, which handles public relations for Hiltons of Branson. Derbins was hired in May 2008.

"Hilton is synonymous with leadership in the hospitality industry, and in the communities where we serve, and I hope to continue that dedication to leadership here in Branson," Campbell said in the release.

Last year, the Branson Convention Center and Hilton hotel was hit directly by a Feb. 29, 2012, EF2 tornado as it made its way down the 76-strip. The storm caused more than $20 million in damage, causing the hotel to be shut down for repairs until October. The convention center, which wasn't as badly damaged, reopened in May of that year, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.