Philip and Beth Hester of Gainesville announce the engagement of their daughter Whitney Beth Hester to Paul Thomas Anthony, son of Diana K. Dokken and Tom and Nada Anthony, all of Gainesville.

The bride-elect is the granddaughter of Mildred Beene of Thomasville, the late Charles H. Beene and the late T. Roderick and Rebecca Hester.

She is a 2000 graduate of Gainesville High School in Gainesville. She graduated in 2005 from the University of Georgia in Athens with a bachelor's degree in education. She received a master's degree in speech-language pathology at the University of Georgia in 2007. She is employed as a speech-language pathologist for the Rehab Services Program at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville.

The groom-elect is the grandson of the late Gerhard and Eleanor Dokken and the late Fred and Melva Anthony.

He is a 2001 graduate of Gainesville High School in Gainesville. He graduated in 2005 from the Cooking & Hospitality Institute of Chicago in Chicago with a degree in culinary arts. He is employed as a corporate/executive chef at Re-Cess Southern Gastro Pub and Sidebar 120, both in Gainesville.

The couple plan to wed May 21, 2011, at Lake Lanier Islands Resort in Buford.