By David Johnson New Albany Gazette The City of New Albany has been named “America’s Best Southern Small Town” for 2017 by USA Today. The announcement came Friday following a four-week voting period. New Albany was one of 20 municipalities nominated by a travel writers and experts earlier this year. The nominations were posted on the USA Today 10best website, and readers were asked to vote for the town they felt should receive the honor. According to Sean Johnson, New Albany’s director of tourism, the nomination had already attracted several visitors. “Earlier this week we had a couple come in from Madison, Georgia, on their way to New Orleans,” Johnson said.