The idea for a “SoKY 50” list has taken on a life of its own.

It stemmed from a recent column pondering who would be in a southcentral Kentucky “hall of fame” — people from here or ties to the region who gained national prominence. The feedback from readers included many folks who, while perhaps not nationally famous, left their mark (or are leaving their mark) on the region.

So when I asked who you would include in such a list, the feedback was quick in coming.

So many nominations came in that the hard task may be in culling the list down to 50 individuals. (But for the sake of keeping it manageable, we will keep it at 50).

For the next few weeks, we will continue to welcome nominations of who you think should be on the list.

Here are the criteria:

•Must have southcentral Kentucky ties: either from here originally or spent significant time here;

•Must have either gained national prominence, have been instrumental in shaping the region, or otherwise have had some sort of prominence worth recognizing.

Examples of each would be, in order, movie director John Carpenter, long-time Congressman William Natcher and notorious brothel owner Pauline Tabor.

For the next few weeks, I’ll be gathering your nominations for the list. With the help of some wonderful volunteer judges, at a date TBD, the Daily News will print a special story outlining the 50 people on the inaugural “SoKY 50.”

I would especially love to hear from folks outside of Bowling Green — I know there are many folks who fit the above criteria from outside Warren County.

Send your nominations to wes.swietek@bgdailynewscom or drop off a note at our Bowling Green offices — and stay tuned.

— Wes Swietek is the Daily News managing editor.