Clinton didn’t capture one of 10 All-America City titles this year, but the city and those who worked so hard, both in Tampa and back here at home, are anything but losers.

There’s no way to be, when one considers just how much is gained through the All-America City process and what has been accomplished in the past few years.

Take the AAC process first. That, alone, allows city officials, community leaders and local residents a chance to truly assess how the town has progressed over the last few years; look at areas where it could be weakest and devise plans to improve those areas that need the most help.

Through the process, Clinton has become a better city and its residents have been the beneficiaries.

What’s more, the process has shown people that they have a vested interest in their city and can, in small or large numbers, make a difference in their neighborhoods, in their schools and in every other area of the city.

Then, there’s the actual All-America event. Clinton has been involved four of the last six years and, without question, those who’ve been part of the delegation to tout the city’s remarkable advances come back forever changed by the experience.

Sharon Metz, the AAC jury forewoman, told the group in Tampa last week that the three days they’d spend in the midst of the AAC process would be something they’d forever remember and something that would change their lives forever.

She is right.

Just ask Maria Paniagua, head of the newly formed SOLIS program in Clinton?. Or Irene Hill Thomas; or 12-year-old Aliah Parker or Clinton businesswoman Ann Thornton.

All are new to the AAC process and all, we’ve no doubt, have come away from three days in Florida with a deeper appreciation for the city they love, a stronger commitment to make it a better place for every individual; and forever bonded with those they shared three special days with as they promoted their town.

There is no way to describe the relationship-building that those three days accomplishes, but those who made the trip understand, and they bring back with them a determination to show residents here just how much we all have to appreciate in the city we call home.

And, while there may be nay-sayers out there (we certainly hope there are none), as Metz said, who have degraded and tried to belittle the process from the beginning, we can say with all honesty that their attempts to tear down something good will not work.

Oh, they may sit back smirking because Clinton didn’t take the 2009 title or sit in some restaurant with nothing better to do than put down the city and those who put their heart into the effort, but their words are empty; their negative outlook a reflection more of them than those willing to get involved and do something to better the city rather than tear it down.

If there are losers in this latest All-America City process, it will be those who choose to take something that has been so positive and so productive and try to make it a negative.