OFA coffee table book, Part 3

I see that at long last, the OFA admin office has released this announcement of the coffee table book project through the ofa-penang mailing list. It has been a long time coming, you know, almost three weeks after I had told the OFA president that I wouldn't mind coming on board the editorial team. Still, better late than never.

What this announcement hopes to achieve is to encourage Old Frees from anywhere around the world to contribute their stories to the project. We are soliciting their goodwill to write for the coffee table book, and the topics must touch on their own lives or that of other living Old Frees elsewhere. I really am not sure what sort of response we'll get. So, it will be a matter of waiting to see what comes up. Will the contributions come in a trickle or will there be a deluge of stories?

 Anyway, this is the message itself. Please read and send it along to other Old Frees you know:

The Old Frees' Association of Penang is in the process of publishing its 1st Coffee Table Book 'FIDELIS'. It will be a pictorial record of the history of PFS and OFA as there is no such book available in the bookshops so far. This is sad as PFS is the oldest school in South-East Asia with a great heritage to be proud of. In fact there is hardly any information compiled on OFA and the great Alumni of PFS anywhere else. The most ‘complete’ information so far is in Wikipedia. 

As stated in the attached file, PFS will be celebrating its Bicentennial Anniversary in 2016, so it is timely that OFA should publish this commemorative Coffee Table Book which will be launched before the next AGM in March 2012.

The 120 pages OFA-CTB (in A4 Landscape layout) will be divided into 5 sub-sections:

1. PFS - We will begin with Penang Free School in Penang Education history before going into the history of the school itself, the old school which is now the State Museum, Present School, Blazonry, School Anthem, HMs and School Traditions.

2. OFA - History ( there were 4 Clubhouses before this present building), Blazonry, New Annex OFA in Queensbay, OFA Facilities, Activities and Events, Past & Present Presidents, Management Committee, OFA Singapore, KL and maybe London, Hong Kong & elsewhere if they exist.

3. PFS Alumni - So far, the Editorial Board has decided to focus on past Alumni only, not on those who are still around. This is because we only have limited funds for this huge project and there are too many Alumni around for us to be fair to everyone.

4. Contributors - This is the section for Old Frees to contribute inspirational Photo Essays (not long articles as this is a Coffee Table Book). They could reminisce on PFS days and write on what they have learned to help them be who they are today, great Alumni who have served faithfully in their calling to make their part of the world a better place or any photo essay related to PFS or OFA. There's not much writing involved for photo essays. Old Frees  could also write poetry instead of prose.

5. Press releases (especially really old ones) on PFS, OFA or great past Alumni.As a member of The Old Frees' Association, you are invited to contribute a photo essay, photos or relevant materials on any of the topics in sub-section 4.

Thank you for being a part of this momentous OFA Coffee Table Book.

Yours sincerely, 

M.S. Rajendren  

President 

The Old Frees' Association