Frequent visitors to the internet, either via Facebook or other venues, have undoubtedly seen the call for people to vote in the BudgetTravel.com’s eighth annual Coolest Small Town in America contest where Shepherdstown has been named one of the 15 finalists.

But to rank high in the listings, votes must be cast daily to secure a top spot. Currently we are slipping in the rankings, down to number seven out of the 15 towns.

While I admit, I have only ever visited one other town on the list, Flagler Beach, Fla., I am convinced that those other 14 are certainly no more “cool” than Shepherdstown. They just have more people hitting the vote key!

Topping out the list currently is a town called Lititz, Pa., followed by Watkins Glen, N.Y. Also coming out ahead of us in the vote as of this writing are Bay St. Louis, Miss., Gulf Shores, Ala., Put-in-Bay, Ohio and Greenville, Ky.

Come on Shepherdstown! Let’s log in to BudgetTravel.com and vote every day and move our little town to the top of the list! Shepherdstown has so much to offer, with unique shops, delicious restaurants, great accommodations for overnight stays, history, water, music, theater…the list is endless. This contest gives us a chance to let the nation (and beyond) know that Shepherdstown in one of the coolest small towns in America.

Without local voting support, we could slip even further down the list of 15, perhaps falling behind Watkins Glen, N.Y., Glennwood Springs, Colo., Mount Carroll, Ill., Camden, Me., Quincy, Calif., Traveler’s Rest, S.C., Elk Hart Lake, Wisc. Or Le Claire, Iowa.

Visit http://bit.ly/RiI4bM and vote! Return every 24 hours and vote. Call all your friends and family and encourage them to vote! The contest runs from now until Feb. 22. If we all pull together (and that is something the town does all the time!) we can top out this list and help name Shepherdstown as the coolest small town in the country!