Alan is the owner and manager of Rains Department Store founded in 1874, which has served to community's needs for general merchandise. He has also served many functions for the Ojai Community: Alan served as grand marshal in the Ojai Independence Day Parade in 2012, chaired the campaign to raise money to rebuild Libbey Bowl and helped raise the money to build the Nordhoff football stadium. He has served on various city commissions for the past 40 years, including as chairman of the Architectural Board and the redevelopment Board.
He has also been a member of a number of community boards, including those for HELP of Ojai, the Ojai Music Festival and the Ojai Valley Community Hospital.
Rains worked in banking for about 30 years, mostly working part-time while also running his department store. Since 1976, Mr. Rains has served on the board of the Ojai Tennis Tournament, the oldest amateur tennis tournament in the United States. He also served as Treasurer and board member of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy.