A number one ranking in the www.ePodunk.com home town index gives local citizens and leaders a bunch to smile about.

The City of Greenville outscored all other United States cities in counties with less than 100,000 residents.

That's incredible news to a city that might just be one shot in the arm short of exploding with positive happenings.

The city received an adjusted index of 100, after scoring 87 of a possible 99 points in 11 statistical categories, according to Brad Edmonson, ePodunk's vice-president-content.

"I think this is great," said Greenville Mayor Dexter McLendon. "I've been knowing all my life that Greenville is number one. It's number one in my heart."

Four other Alabama towns made the top ten in the small-town index: Demopolis, Jackson, Luverne and Tuscumbia. Birmingham was the third-ranked city in counties with populations more than 100,000.

The index combined 11 statistical sources to measure residential roots and civic spirit.

"We're going to capitalize on this," said Greenville Mayor Dexter McLendon. "We'll make sure that those companies that are considering Greenville as a place to locate their business know about this award."

The web site, which was launched Sunday, received 100,000 hits in its first five days, said Edmonson. The company has been in development for more than a year, and the index was applied to 28,000 cities, towns and villages, all of which are profiled on the company's web site, ePodunk.com.

Every citizen in Butler County can take pride, and think positively about things now . . . and things to come.