At the Missouri Department of Economic Development, director Mike Downing's office is a reflection of his life both professionally and personally.
A miniature bale of cotton and his grandpa's scale that once weighed handpicked cotton sit near his desk, acting as reminders of growing up on a cotton farm in Kennett, Missouri. Bookshelves are full of St. Louis Cardinals baseball memorabilia. Until middle school, Downing, who was an active baseball player and five-sport high school athlete, dreamed of becoming a shortstop for the team.
Downing's first childhood memory was listening to broadcasters Harry Caray and Jack Buck on the radio.
"I can remember that better than anything else from when I was very, very young," Downing said.
Plaques - showcasing his professional accomplishments and experience - hang on the walls. Photos of Downing with international leaders also adorn his office.
Downing is settled in as the director of the department of economic development - a position he's officially held since April 2013 - after more than 30 years there in various capacities. Finding his passion for economic development came after years of searching for the right career path while in college. Like many students, he changed his major multiple times.
"I didn't know what I wanted to do," Downing said. "The only thing I knew how to do were farming and sports."
In 1977, Downing graduated from Arkansas State University with degrees in business administration and health, physical education and recreation, but he was still waiting for something to click. Career aptitude tests suggested he pursue public administration, and he sought a master's degree at the University of Missouri in the subject.
While attending a seminar at the Columbia school, Downing listened to a speaker talk about how to lift people out of welfare and poverty through creating a condition for jobs.
Light bulb.
"I was raised in a religious family in which your life had a purpose," Downing said. "And, trying to figure out what that purpose is is the trick. Everybody kept saying, 'Do what you think is important and where you can make a difference,' but what that really is is really hard to find. It clicked that this was a way I could make a difference."
After graduate school, Downing worked for the Bootheel Regional Planning Commission for three years. He then went on to work with the department of economic development in 1982 as the first staff member hired for its new community development block grant program.
Previously administered by the federal government, the program supports loans, housing rehabilitation, and infrastructure and economic development. There was always more need than money, Downing said, so he and other staff tried to make the best use of funds available.
"The trick was making the wisest decisions and having the most impact," he said. "That sounds easy, but it's not."
Downing was named the code division director of business and community services in 2008 and then left the department for an 18-month stint leading the Missouri CORE partnership, a nonprofit organization created to spur economic growth in Mid-Missouri.
He left when Gov. Jay Nixon's office asked him to return to the department of economic development as its deputy director. In the role, Downing was a leader in the state's automotive activities, which led to the Ford and General Motors expansions.
David Kerr, who was the director starting in 2009, retired about two years later after taking the helm. Interim directors followed.
Nixon appointed Downing as the director in 2013. The role was challenging, he said, but the transition was easy due to his familiarity with the department.
He oversees "mega projects" that will either attract new business or help existing ones expand. Downing and his team worked on an incentive package in 2013 to bring Boeing 777X production to St. Louis. Missouri came in second to winning the project to Washington state, where Boeing headquarters are located.
Though the state lost the project, it won wing and tail assembly, which created about 700 jobs.
Cerner, a health care technologies company, is in the works of building a $4.2 billion campus in Kansas City that will bring in 16,000 jobs. Downing said this project, the biggest in Missouri history, will be a game changer.
Major companies like Monsanto and Centene have also expanded under Downing's watch.
Missouri, he said, is leading the nation in new business development. He credits that to cooperation from the state and its partners, low costs and Missourians' work ethic.
"Our work force has the type of people who come to work early, they work hard, they take training and they give you a day's work for a good dollar - that's the most important thing," Downing said.
Reflecting on his career, Downing said he's been "fortunate to have an extremely competent and caring staff and partners," adding they work as a team.
"This is something I think I was supposed to do and it's about making a difference - how much more fun could that be?"
In his spare time, Downing sings in a men's gospel quartet and plays golf. He has an adult son and daughter, and he officiated his son's wedding earlier this summer. His wife, Donna, is a teacher at the Special Learning Center where Downing said she dedicates herself to children with special needs.