2026 Keynote Presentation
"Growth in Our Lives"
With a panel of elders of the GCG Tribe
In lieu of a special guest this year, our keynote workshop will be facilitated by a panel of elders of our tribe sharing stories of growth in their lives and communities and inviting all participants to share theirs.
This will be a roundtable discussion open to anyone who wishes to ask questions or share their stories.
This will be a roundtable discussion open to anyone who wishes to ask questions or share their stories.
Meet our Panelists
Al Cheatham
Al is a Druid Graduate from Semmes, Alabama, who works at a federal prison.
Al writes, “My growth in the community has been my work with ICE detainees. The Bureau of Prisons, for which I work, asked for volunteers to help with the legal process for detainees. I volunteered. I help get them through parts of the legal system when they are applying for asylum, bond hearings, self-deportation/self-removal, as well as preparing to be removed. While I only play a small role, we deal with most everything while the people are in custody (i.e., medical, health and welfare, and psychological needs). My work at the federal prison is preparing inmates for their return home as well."
Al is a Druid Graduate from Semmes, Alabama, who works at a federal prison.
Al writes, “My growth in the community has been my work with ICE detainees. The Bureau of Prisons, for which I work, asked for volunteers to help with the legal process for detainees. I volunteered. I help get them through parts of the legal system when they are applying for asylum, bond hearings, self-deportation/self-removal, as well as preparing to be removed. While I only play a small role, we deal with most everything while the people are in custody (i.e., medical, health and welfare, and psychological needs). My work at the federal prison is preparing inmates for their return home as well."
Shirley Deasy
Shirley is a Druid Graduate from Morganton, Georgia.
She writes, “My background includes rejecting the fundamentalist Christian church I was raised in, an early marriage, birth of a brain-damaged child, a second child, divorce, living as a single parent, and a long-lasting second marriage. Spiritually, I drifted for many years, not knowing there was anything that would give me a home for my spiritual and religious thoughts. About 13 years ago, I discovered Wicca and then embraced Druidry. In Druidry, I have found the spiritual home that I sought.”
Shirley is a Druid Graduate from Morganton, Georgia.
She writes, “My background includes rejecting the fundamentalist Christian church I was raised in, an early marriage, birth of a brain-damaged child, a second child, divorce, living as a single parent, and a long-lasting second marriage. Spiritually, I drifted for many years, not knowing there was anything that would give me a home for my spiritual and religious thoughts. About 13 years ago, I discovered Wicca and then embraced Druidry. In Druidry, I have found the spiritual home that I sought.”
Joy Purcell
Joy is a Druid Graduate from North Fort Myers, Florida.
"As the tapestry is woven, a brief part. I was born in Cannock, Staffordshire, UK, and immigrated to this country at the age of 9. The threads weave; as I grew, I found myself experiencing the life of the sixties and its changes, war and peace. Again, the wheel turns, and I entered the Culinary Institute of America as a young woman in a field of men. The land in upstate NY is old, and I was connected to the nuance. I didn't know what those connections were at the time. Forward in time, and I am in Florida with a very informed UU church I am still with today. I found the threads as the goddess movement was felt, and I went in with both feet. We started a CUUPS chapter in 1994. I was a seeker walking the many paths of spirit. Wicca was first, and that gave me a base, but it did not nourish my soul. Then I found SOA and helped with its birthing, going back to my home in the UK on pilgrimage. Still, my soul yearned for something; I also had children to guide. A group of us, who are my circle of hearth, found OBOD, and I was home. I am a full Druid with OBOD, and to pull it all around I am initiated in the Druid order of Anglesey. I am an artisan, chef, and liaison for my CUUPS group, given to service, holding my heart in my square mile of existence. As the years passed, our CUUPS group has hosted Starhawk, Ubaka Hill, and Lanye Redman of When the Drummers Were Women, just to name a few I have learned from."
Joy is a Druid Graduate from North Fort Myers, Florida.
"As the tapestry is woven, a brief part. I was born in Cannock, Staffordshire, UK, and immigrated to this country at the age of 9. The threads weave; as I grew, I found myself experiencing the life of the sixties and its changes, war and peace. Again, the wheel turns, and I entered the Culinary Institute of America as a young woman in a field of men. The land in upstate NY is old, and I was connected to the nuance. I didn't know what those connections were at the time. Forward in time, and I am in Florida with a very informed UU church I am still with today. I found the threads as the goddess movement was felt, and I went in with both feet. We started a CUUPS chapter in 1994. I was a seeker walking the many paths of spirit. Wicca was first, and that gave me a base, but it did not nourish my soul. Then I found SOA and helped with its birthing, going back to my home in the UK on pilgrimage. Still, my soul yearned for something; I also had children to guide. A group of us, who are my circle of hearth, found OBOD, and I was home. I am a full Druid with OBOD, and to pull it all around I am initiated in the Druid order of Anglesey. I am an artisan, chef, and liaison for my CUUPS group, given to service, holding my heart in my square mile of existence. As the years passed, our CUUPS group has hosted Starhawk, Ubaka Hill, and Lanye Redman of When the Drummers Were Women, just to name a few I have learned from."
Art Scarbrough
Art is the Senior Druid in Highland Oak Nemeton in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Retired from local industry, Art has been involved in Druidry since the 1980s. As a founding member of HON, his primary focus has been on improving the image of Druidry and all alternative spiritual paths in the broader community. To that end he has been a popular speaker across the area including churches. Whether speaking on herbs, magic, or religion, he successfully weaves Druidry into his presentations. Art was a founding member of the Louisiana Master Naturalists of Greater Baton Rouge, and currently serves on the boards of the Botanical Gardens Foundation and the Herb Society of America Baton Rouge Unit.
Art is the Senior Druid in Highland Oak Nemeton in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Retired from local industry, Art has been involved in Druidry since the 1980s. As a founding member of HON, his primary focus has been on improving the image of Druidry and all alternative spiritual paths in the broader community. To that end he has been a popular speaker across the area including churches. Whether speaking on herbs, magic, or religion, he successfully weaves Druidry into his presentations. Art was a founding member of the Louisiana Master Naturalists of Greater Baton Rouge, and currently serves on the boards of the Botanical Gardens Foundation and the Herb Society of America Baton Rouge Unit.