The Quarterly HR Lunch Association

Article I · Name, Purpose, and Authority

Section 1 · Name

The official name of this body shall be the Quarterly HR Lunch Association, hereafter referred to as “the Association.”

Section 2 · Purpose

The purposes of the Association shall include:

• Convening on a quarterly basis for social, cultural, and administrative purposes.
• Consuming beer, pretzels, and other appropriate refreshments in a manner consistent with the dignity of the Association.
• Sustaining fellowship and continuity among the members.
• Providing a formal structure for the assignment of titles, powers, obligations, and disputes.
• Facilitating commentary, criticism, and mock-serious analysis concerning matters of common interest, including but not limited to Novo.

Section 3 · Guiding Principles

The Association shall be governed in accordance with the principles of institutional continuity, procedural legitimacy, member participation, orderly succession of authority, equitable distribution of official powers, and faithful adherence to established process, whether or not such process is efficient.

Section 4 · Authority

The Association shall possess full authority over its internal proceedings, offices, elections, disciplinary matters, and ceremonial acts, except where limited by brewery policy, applicable law, or the arrival of food.

Article II · Membership

Section 1 · Members in Good Standing

Any person who has attended a gathering of the Association, or who has been accepted by general recognition as belonging to the Association, shall be deemed a Member in Good Standing.

Section 2 · Provisional Members

Any invited person, expected attendee, recurring guest, or individual recognized by motion of the members may be designated a Provisional Member.

Section 3 · Junior Member Eligibility

Minor children, babies, toddlers, and other youth affiliates of the Association shall be recognized as Junior Members and shall be eligible for nomination to any office of the Association.

A Junior Member may serve in office through a designated adult proxy, who shall speak, vote, and interpret the Junior Member’s intentions on the record. A Junior Member’s intent may be inferred from conduct, gesture, expression, silence, or any reasonable proxy interpretation offered with confidence.

Ordinary childhood behavior, including fussiness, crying, wandering, babbling, and snack-related disruption, shall not disqualify a Junior Member from service.

Section 4 · Voting Rights

Each Member in Good Standing present at a gathering shall have one vote. Junior Members properly recognized under Section 3 may exercise their vote by proxy through the designated adult member responsible for their representation.

Section 5 · Determination of Presence

For purposes of voting, quorum, and procedural recognition, a member shall be considered present when physically at the gathering and sufficiently attentive to respond when called upon.

Section 6 · Credentials and Eligibility Challenges

Before any vote, nomination, or installation into office, the Governance & Oversight Chair may challenge the standing, eligibility, or proxy authority of any participant. Any such challenge shall be resolved before further action proceeds, unless overruled by majority vote.

Article III · Officers

Section 1 · Offices Established

The Association shall maintain the offices of President, Vice President, Treasurer, Historian, Secretary, Ethics Officer, Community Outreach Chair, Volunteer Coordinator, Governance & Oversight Chair, Communications Officer, Education Chair, Fundraising Chair, and DEI & Inclusion Officer.

Section 2 · General Duties

All officers shall carry the responsibilities of their office with appropriate seriousness and with such authority as is granted elsewhere in this Constitution, by amendment, or by valid motion of the Association.

Section 3 · Duties of Individual Officers

President. The President shall preside over meetings, recognize motions, rule on order, and manage the general course of proceedings. The President may break tie votes except where the question directly concerns the President’s own tenure or authority.

Vice President. The Vice President shall assist in the administration of the Association and shall assume the duties of the President in the President’s absence, incapacity, conflict, or lawful displacement. The Vice President shall be first in the line of succession.

Treasurer. The Treasurer shall oversee the financial affairs of the Association, whether real, symbolic, speculative, or coercive in nature; maintain accountings of obligations and contributions; assess dues, fees, penalties, and other exactions as necessary; and, where collection becomes difficult, may authorize enforcement measures, including intimidation, extortion, and the dispatch of goons.

Historian. The Historian shall maintain the official record of prior meetings, notable statements, disputed events, precedents, and narratives deemed institutionally useful. The Historian may cite precedent in support of any procedural or interpretive claim.

Secretary. The Secretary shall record minutes, motions, outcomes, declarations, and any statements expressly entered into the record. The Secretary shall also settle the official wording of motions, certifications, and formal charges unless overruled by majority vote.

Ethics Officer. The Ethics Officer shall review allegations of misconduct, conflicts of interest, abuse of process, and violations of the standards or spirit of the Association. The Ethics Officer shall preside over impeachments except where otherwise provided.

Community Outreach Chair. The Community Outreach Chair shall oversee external relations, including engagement with servers, bartenders, neighboring tables, and other relevant public-facing constituencies. The Community Outreach Chair may also sponsor honorary observers as provided herein.

Volunteer Coordinator. The Volunteer Coordinator shall identify, recruit, assign, and if necessary pressure members into service on committees, initiatives, and temporary working groups. The Volunteer Coordinator shall make appointments where this Constitution or the Association so provides.

Governance & Oversight Chair. The Governance & Oversight Chair shall review constitutional questions, monitor procedural compliance, supervise institutional reforms, and investigate irregularities in office or process. The Governance & Oversight Chair may issue advisory interpretations of this Constitution.

Communications Officer. The Communications Officer shall manage official announcements, reminders, notices, summaries, and messaging on behalf of the Association. The Communications Officer shall issue the official post-gathering summary unless displaced by contrary vote.

Education Chair. The Education Chair shall promote awareness of Association procedure, precedent, agenda matters, brewery options, and any issue requiring interpretive guidance. The Education Chair may require pending measures to be explained before final vote.

Fundraising Chair. The Fundraising Chair shall develop plans for revenue generation, dues collection, symbolic fundraising efforts, and campaigns of uncertain necessity. The Fundraising Chair may introduce revenue measures on shortened debate as provided herein.

DEI & Inclusion Officer. The DEI & Inclusion Officer shall promote broad participation, fair treatment, equitable access to office, and the inclusion of new, overlooked, dissenting, or baby-affiliated constituencies. The DEI & Inclusion Officer may object to inequitable concentrations of power as provided herein.

Section 4 · Multiple Offices

No member shall hold more than two offices simultaneously, except during periods of reorganization, where vacancies cannot otherwise be filled, where the offices are deemed operationally linked, or where a temporary consolidation of authority is approved by motion. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to require that such consolidation be brief.

Article IV · Elections, Terms, and Succession

Section 1 · Timing of Elections

Elections shall be held at each quarterly gathering of the Association unless postponed, suspended, superseded, or incorporated into a broader reorganization process.

Section 2 · Nominations

Any Member in Good Standing may nominate any eligible person, including themselves, another member, or a Junior Member eligible under Article II. A nomination shall be valid upon second.

Section 3 · Method of Election

Unless otherwise specified by motion, elections shall be decided by simple majority of those present and voting. The President, or other presiding authority, shall determine whether a vote shall be taken by voice, show of hands, acclaim, or other sufficiently official means.

Section 4 · Certification of Results

The Secretary shall certify election results and settle the official wording of titles, offices, and motions incident to the election. The Historian may enter a formal objection based on precedent, and the Governance & Oversight Chair may review the eligibility of any winner prior to installation.

Section 5 · Terms of Office

Each term of office shall begin upon election and continue until the next election, resignation, removal, succession, vacancy, or valid restructuring of the office.

Section 6 · Term Limits

No person shall serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office. Service in an acting, interim, emergency, or provisional capacity shall not necessarily constitute a term; service under a modified title may be treated as distinct from service under the original title; and a merged office may be interpreted as either a continuation of a prior office or a newly created office, depending on the needs of the Association.

Section 7 · Succession

Where an office becomes vacant, the President may appoint an interim officeholder until the next election, subject to later ratification. If the office of President becomes vacant, the Vice President shall assume the Presidency, unless the Governance & Oversight Chair determines that the vacancy is disputed, conditional, or not yet ripe.

Section 8 · Temporary Incapacity

The Vice President may assert that the President is temporarily unable to discharge the duties of office. Upon such assertion, the Vice President shall assume the chair until the claim is rejected by majority vote.

Section 9 · Transitional Objection

Any interim appointment made by the President may be blocked by joint objection of the Ethics Officer and the Governance & Oversight Chair, in which case the office shall remain vacant pending vote of the members.

Article V · Meetings and Order of Business

Section 1 · Quorum

A quorum shall consist of the members present at the time official business is brought before the Association.

Section 2 · Presiding Authority

The President shall preside over meetings, recognize motions, rule on order, and manage the general course of proceedings. In the President’s absence, incapacity, conflict, or displacement, the Vice President or other duly recognized successor shall preside.

Section 3 · Order of Business

The President shall set the initial order of business for each gathering. The Communications Officer, Treasurer, and Fundraising Chair may each once per gathering demand priority recognition for a matter within the ordinary scope of their office.

Section 4 · Official Record

The Secretary shall record minutes, motions, outcomes, declarations, and any statements expressly entered into the record. The written record of the Secretary shall govern as to the text of proceedings unless corrected before adjournment.

Section 5 · Official Narrative

The Communications Officer shall issue the official summary of the gathering, including actions taken, offices held, movements formed, and disputes left unresolved. Such summary shall be presumed accurate unless corrected before the next gathering.

Section 6 · Precedent

In disputes concerning prior practice, the Historian’s account shall prevail as to precedent unless contradicted by the Secretary’s written record or overruled by two-thirds vote.

Section 7 · Instruction and Delay

The Education Chair may require that any pending matter be read aloud and explained before final vote. Such demand shall delay final action until the explanation is complete.

Section 8 · Ethical Review

The Ethics Officer may place any pending motion, ruling, or action under ethical review before final vote. Such review shall suspend action until later in the same gathering unless overridden by two-thirds vote.

Section 9 · Emergency Administrative Authority

In the event of confusion, procedural deadlock, institutional instability, or disputed beer-related governance matters, the President may invoke Emergency Administrative Authority for the duration of the current gathering, subject to reversal by two-thirds vote.

Section 10 · Emergency Review

Any invocation of Emergency Administrative Authority shall be immediately reviewable by the Ethics Officer for abuse and by the Governance & Oversight Chair for constitutional sufficiency.

Article VI · Motions, Committees, and Movements

Section 1 · Motions

Any Member in Good Standing may introduce a motion. Any other such member may second, amend, table, divide, defer, or otherwise complicate the same.

Section 2 · Drafting Authority

No motion shall be put to final vote until the Secretary declares the wording sufficiently definite, unless the members vote to proceed notwithstanding ambiguity.

Section 3 · Constitutional Interpretation

The Governance & Oversight Chair may issue advisory constitutional interpretations concerning pending measures. Such interpretations shall stand unless reversed by amendment, by ruling of the chair, or by two-thirds vote.

Section 4 · Committees

The Association may establish standing committees, special committees, investigative panels, task forces, or advisory bodies by majority vote.

Section 5 · Committee Appointments

Unless otherwise specified, members of committees shall be appointed by the Volunteer Coordinator.

Section 6 · Inclusion Objection

The DEI & Inclusion Officer may object once to any proposed committee slate, nomination, or internal arrangement on grounds of exclusion, inequity, or undue concentration of power. Upon such objection, the matter shall be reconsidered before proceeding.

Section 7 · Movements

Any two members may establish a movement within the Association upon declaring a common objective, grievance, or reform agenda. Such movements may recruit members, circulate proposals, advocate for amendments, seek abolition, merger, or redistribution of offices, and support coordinated electoral or procedural strategies.

Section 8 · Recognition of Caucuses

Any movement obtaining the support of three members, or of two members and one represented Junior Member officeholder, may be recognized as an official caucus of the Association. Upon recognition, the Communications Officer shall announce the caucus name, and the Historian shall record its stated principles, after which the caucus may negotiate openly or secretly.

Section 9 · Volunteer Authority

The Volunteer Coordinator may assign members to committees, delegations, inquiries, ceremonial duties, and temporary working groups created by motion, unless the creating measure provides otherwise.

Section 10 · Community Relations

The Community Outreach Chair shall oversee external relations, including engagement with servers, bartenders, neighboring tables, and other relevant public-facing constituencies. The Community Outreach Chair may designate an outside person or institution as ally, neutral party, or hostile actor for the duration of the gathering.

Section 11 · Sponsored Observer

The Community Outreach Chair may sponsor one non-member observer, advisor, or honorary guest for informal consultation during a gathering, provided such person shall not vote absent further action.

Article VII · Finance, Assessments, and Sanctions

Section 1 · Financial Authority

The Treasurer shall oversee the financial affairs of the Association, whether real, symbolic, speculative, or coercive in nature; maintain accountings of obligations and contributions; assess dues, fees, penalties, and other exactions as necessary; and, where collection becomes difficult, may authorize enforcement measures, including intimidation, extortion, and the dispatch of goons.

Section 2 · Certification of Obligations

The Treasurer may certify debts, fines, restitution, and obligations owed to the Association. Any member so certified shall remain in good standing unless otherwise directed, but may be deemed ineligible for appointed office until such matter is declared resolved.

Section 3 · Extraordinary Assessments

The Fundraising Chair may propose extraordinary assessments, levies, ceremonial dues, or revenue measures on shortened debate. Nothing herein shall require that the necessity of such measure be obvious.

Section 4 · Joint Financial Pressure

In lieu of impeachment, the Treasurer and Fundraising Chair, acting jointly, may recommend fines, dues, ceremonial restitution, or other monetary indignities against an officer or member.

Section 5 · Treasury Reports

The Treasurer may issue reports describing the state of the Association’s finances in whatever degree of precision, menace, or optimism the office deems appropriate.

Article VIII · Amendments, Impeachment, and Reorganization

Section 1 · Amendments

This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of members present.

Section 2 · Clarifying Amendments

Any proposal styled as a clarification, harmonization, technical adjustment, or conforming revision may be adopted by simple majority, provided that it is not objected to as substantive before the vote is concluded.

Section 3 · Amendment Review

Before final adoption of any amendment, the Education Chair may require that its practical consequences be stated aloud, and the Historian may note any conflict with prior practice.

Section 4 · Impeachment

Any officer may be impeached for misconduct, dereliction of duty, abuse of office, corruption, procedural sabotage, nonattendance, or conduct materially injurious to the dignity or strategic interests of the Association.

Section 5 · Articles of Impeachment

Articles of Impeachment may be introduced by any member and shall pass upon majority vote.

Section 6 · Prosecutorial Standing

The Governance & Oversight Chair, the President, and any recognized caucus may bring charges for constitutional misconduct. The Secretary shall settle the official wording of the charges.

Section 7 · Trial

Impeachment trials shall be presided over by the Ethics Officer. If the Ethics Officer is the subject of impeachment or is otherwise compromised, the Historian shall preside. If both are compromised, the members shall appoint a temporary presiding authority.

Section 8 · Preliminary Findings

The Ethics Officer may issue preliminary findings of impropriety, which shall suspend any contested action until the matter is resolved.

Section 9 · Conviction and Removal

Conviction shall require a two-thirds vote of those present, unless the member in question fails to appear, in which case removal may proceed upon a finding of contempt, abandonment, or practical necessity.

Section 10 · Impeachment of Junior Members

A Junior Member may be impeached, but only upon a showing that the alleged misconduct exceeds ordinary childhood behavior and materially impairs the functioning or dignity of the Association. No impeachment of a Junior Member shall be valid absent notice to the designated proxy, an opportunity for defense, and either concurrence of the Ethics Officer or a two-thirds vote of the members present.

Section 11 · Reorganization of Offices

By amendment, the Association may create, abolish, merge, suspend, rename, or redistribute the duties of any office. An incumbent whose office is reorganized may retain honorary status, assert successor authority, contest the legality of the change, or claim continuation in office until the matter is resolved.

Section 12 · Equity Review of Reorganization

Any plan to abolish, merge, or consolidate offices may be delayed by objection of the DEI & Inclusion Officer, who may require the members to consider whether power is being concentrated in a manner inconsistent with the principles of the Association.

Article IX · Ratification and Continuing Force

Section 1 · Ratification

This Constitution shall take effect immediately upon approval by majority vote of the members present at a duly convened gathering of the Association.

Section 2 · Continuing Force

Once ratified, this Constitution shall remain in force until amended, superseded, suspended during a recognized emergency, or disregarded with sufficient confidence and procedural cover.