One ‘Tough Kookie' still doing great things in Texarkana
She's a wife, mother, business owner, woman of faith, and cancer survivor.
In 2016, she underwent surgery and chemotherapy treatments, fighting with a smile on her face as she continued to run her medical coding business, showing up for her children's activities and investing in her marriage.
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'Telling everybody else I was fine to keep everybody else good because I don't want nobody to ever worry about me or to have pity on me,' Katina shared.
Two years into her cancer battle, Katina decided to help others through theirs by creating the Tough Kookie Foundation. The foundation provides support, encouragement, resources, education, and advocacy for breast and childhood cancer survivors in the Texarkana area.
'I thought she was spreading herself a little thin,' Joe Levingston explained. 'Then one night we were praying, and she told God, and I said, 'That's it. It's over now.''
Levingston said in 2022, they raised nearly $170,000, with all of the proceeds helping cancer patients and their families. Tough Kookie provides a wide range of assistance, from paying for mammograms and ultrasounds to providing financial support, meals, and pampering.
'I just want people to feel good about themselves,' Levingston said. 'Because going through cancer, you don't feel good about yourself.'
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This remarkable woman said she is simply carrying on the tremendous legacy left by her grandmother, who taught her important life lessons during summers on their family farm.
'My grandmother was a giver,' Levingston recalled. 'She gave everything, and I really wish she was here to see me doing the things that she sowed into me.'
The remarkable woman from Texarkana has advice for others who want to live their best life.
'Love on you. Love on your family. Laugh a lot. Travel a lot and just be the best you – you can be.'
Since becoming Remarkable Woman of the ArkLaTex in 2023, Katina has founded two other organizations: The Twin City Multicultural Council and The Women of Texarkana Tea Party, where ladies meet on the first Saturday of each month to give back to a local non-profit.
Katina has received several awards, including the 2024 Texarkana NAACP Trailblazer Award, the 2025 Chamber Choice Award from the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce, and the 2024-25 Sustainer of the Year for the Junior League of Texarkana.
Her goal is to make a difference every day by helping others. Katina says her motto is, 'Don't talk about it. Be about it.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Chicago Tribune
31-07-2025
- Chicago Tribune
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Yahoo
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- Yahoo
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