Today is the day Exeter. The day for you to show your love for and pride in the downtown business community. After a month of anticipation and a non-stop social media pep rally for #MyExeter, the team from the Small Business Revolution and Deluxe Corporation is in Exeter.

In December, Exeter made the cut from the top 20 to the top 10 in the Small Business Revolution, a competition/television show which awards $500,000 worth of marketing and business expertise to one community. This month, the crew from the SBR and Deluxe Corp., have traveled around the country, visiting all of the top 10 towns. Exeter is the last town on their tour and we like to think they saved the best for last.

For the past two months, Exeter’s downtown business owners and town officials have been working tirelessly to prepare for the arrival of the team from the television show. Members of the business community that may have only known each other by sight, have worked side by side to plan for the SBR trip. New friendships and partnerships have formed.

Attendance at downtown business type meetings that had dropped off, surged as people found a renewed vitality in Exeter’s small business community. These gatherings led to better collaboration among businesses, town officials, and residents.

Rob Glowacky and the team at Exeter TV 98 met with businesses owners downtown and produced almost daily videos for their Facebook and YouTube pages. Longtime business owners like Keith and Kathy Lemerise, of Trends Gift Gallery, talked of the nature of Exeter’s business community. Others spoke of the challenge in competing against the online shopping sites, and the struggle to effectively use social media.

Residents and retailers touted their overwhelming love for Exeter and its downtown in countless posts to the #MyExeter page on Facebook.

It is the people, many said, that make Exeter special. People like longtime bartender Jane Kiernan. “Jane personifies the small town hospitality #MyExeter loves,” Jayna Venturini wrote on the #MyExeter page. “Many people have told me Jane is one of the first people they met when they moved to or first visited Exeter and the warm welcome she gave them left a lasting impression.”

Sue Eno gave kudos to the employees at Gerry’s Variety and the Trackside Café where her elderly mother goes almost daily. “They are wonderful. They save her the TV guide, make sure she gets home safe in bad weather and even open her pills for her if she is having a hard time,” Eno wrote. “Looking out for each other and doing your best is what Exeter is to me.”

More posted about the natural beauty around Exeter, the town’s historic charm, and its vibrant creative community. Others pointed to Water Street Bookstore, an anchor downtown, known for bringing an impressive list of local and national authors to town.

So why should Exeter make it to the top in this contest? Cameron Potts, Deluxe Corporation’s vice president of public relations, offered these thoughts on the type of town the show is looking for in a media interview: “We’re looking for a community that maybe is a little bit more on the upswing, needs some help, but not too much,” Potts said.

We may be biased, but we feel this describes Exeter. Exeter has been on the cusp of its own revolution, especially when it comes to new restaurants. Sea Dog Brewing Company is expected to open this spring in the former Loaf and Ladle, while Otis was recently named best new restaurant in the state. Lexie’s on Lincoln Street is expanding into a larger space, and the Thirsty Moose in the former Friendly’s on Portsmouth Avenue is always full. At the same time, Decorum announced it was closing after 20 years this week, and Penang and Tokyo has signs advertising it is for sale or lease.

Exeter has momentum but also needs help transitioning into the next era of downtown retail. To thrive in that era, Exeter’s shops need guidance on how to remain relevant in a time of online shopping, how to continue to draw shoppers to their physical locations. Since news of the Small Business Revolution contest got out, many of those shoppers have reengaged and become enthusiastic cheerleaders for Exeter’s small businesses. We hope they remain invested, regardless of whether Exeter makes it to the top or not.

If you see the team from the show around town today, stop and say hello. And be sure to tell them what you love about #MyExeter.