Rags to riches: Bill MacAloney: from orphan to successful business owner to CBA.

As the newest public member of the California Board of Accountancy, W. "Bill" MacAloney looks to leverage a wealth of experience serving on the boards of businesses and trade groups, as well as his skills as a successful entrepreneur.

But the path to the CBA is a true rags-to-riches story for MacAloney, president and CEO of Anaheim-based Jax Markets.

Early Life

Born in Fitchburg, Mass., in 1935, MacAloney became an orphan at the age of two and spent his childhood in various boys homes and orphanages. At 16, he ran away from a boys home and hitchhiked to California with no money in his pocket, no place to stay and an education that ended at the 10th-grade.

Once in Los Angeles, he worked several odd jobs, including moving furniture and working at a chemical coating factory, until landing a job in the food industry, unloading boxcars in a warehouse for Mayfair Markets.

When that warehouse closed a few years later, MacAloney sought a job with the Certified Grocers of California, a much larger company.

"But the Certified Grocers of California wouldn't give me a job; they said I wasn't tall enough to reach merchandise over my head," says MacAloney. "You had to be at least five feet, eight inches."

But after moving furniture and working in a factory where "your clothes would get eaten up by acid," MacAloney was determined to stick with the food industry, and worked his way up to management at both independent and chain groceries.

His hard work and dedication led to several high-profile management jobs at numerous grocery stores.

Indeed, 30 years after being turned down by the Certified Grocers of California for being too short, "I became chairman of the board of the company," MacAloney says. "I guess their height limit went down by then."

Jax Markets

After four years at the helm of the Certified Grocers of California, MacAloney started his own independent grocery store--Jax Markets--in 1970, which serves the Hispanic community.

"It started out pretty rough," recalls MacAloney, who's married and has two children and 10 grandchildren. "I bought a company that was going bankrupt, and it took me three years to pay everyone off."

After years of careful planning, Jax Markets has expanded and operates three successful grocery stores in Anaheim, Santa Fe Springs and Ontario.

Through his tenure at Jax Markets, MacAloney became involved in several trade groups, which introduced him to state and national legislative efforts.

Trade Group Experience

MacAloney is no stranger to state and national politics.

He has served on the board of The Western Association of Food Chains for 14 years, including a stint as chair. He also serves on the board of the national Food Marketing Institute, having served as co-chair and on numerous committees.

MacAloney also helped start The Mexican-American Grocers Association and served as its vice chair, and was the chair of the Southern California Grocer Association, which has become the California Grocers Association.

During his time with the California Grocers Association, MacAloney has gotten to know some key state legislators and has done a fair amount of issues education on behalf of the Food Market Institute, as well.

This exposure to the political process reaped dividends at the local level for MacAloney.

Mayor MacAloney

MacAloney ran for mayor of his hometown of Villa Park in 2000, looking to increase the level of transparency and accountability in the city's finances. To campaign, MacAloney knocked on every door of the 7,200-person community to make his case. With such a personal touch, it's no surprise that he beat an incumbent for the position.

MacAloney wanted to see more accountability and communication at the local level, to make local government more consumer-friendly.

"We made a lot of changes," he says. "We re-did the budget so people could understand exactly where each cost went in the city. We started town hall meetings and built the city's first webpage."

MacAloney's financial acumen reaped immediate benefits for Villa Park. "We had a budget surplus every year I was there," he says. MacAloney stepped down as mayor in November 2004, when his term was complete.

CBA Appointment

MacAloney also ran for the state Assembly in the 60th District last year, losing to Bob Huff. But the exposure he gained in the race resulted in the governor appointing him to the CBA.

"I've always wanted to give back to the community," MacAloney says. "Coming from my background, I've been so successful in my life that I feel an obligation to give back. So this is my way of giving back, to help protect the interests of the people of California."

At press time, MacAloney had just attended his first CBA meeting. He is eager to get under way with the CBA, and lists license fees and practice privilege issues as some of the challenges facing the CBA in 2006.

"I'm just getting up to speed on the pressing issues, but I look forward to working on the board and helping to solve whatever problems come our way," he says.

Jerry Ascierto is CalCPA's managing editor. You can reach him at [e-mail].