Just before the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for Get Fit Tenino, owner Kasey Cartledge was named to the 2025 South Sound Business 40 Under 40 list.
Cartledge, 35, also owns Get Fit Yelm and The Loft Esthetics and is a real estate investor. She is featured on the cover of the physical issue and will be honored at South Sound Business’ live event on April 15.
Get Fit Tenino, 139 Stage St. N., opened its doors on Jan. 1 for a soft opening and celebrated its grand opening Friday afternoon. The gym offers memberships that include 24-hour access to the facility, which previously housed a farm and feed store.
Cartledge shared her reaction via Facebook to being selected for the 40 Under 40 list and for the cover of the publication.
“Thank you all who nominated me! I'm so honored! And to be on the cover is such an amazing experience,” she wrote.
On Jan. 1, the soft opening for Get Fit Tenino marked the three-year anniversary of when Cartledge took over Get Fit Yelm in 2022. She has worked for Get Fit Yelm for over 13 years, and she believed Tenino was a worthy place to expand because she envisioned an economic boom like Yelm experienced in recent years. She also knew there was a need for a gym in south Thurston County.
“I had talked to a mutual friend who lives out in Rochester, and he explained that he has to drive 20 minutes to get to the closest gym. He didn’t even really care for the gym, but it was the only option,” Cartledge said in a Jan. 14 Nisqually Valley News story. “I want to give a convenient option for people to get healthy in a small town.”
Cartledge explained in her biography on the 40 Under 40 website that becoming a single mother before the age of 30 “completely changed my perspective on life” and called her daughter her “greatest pride.”
“I realized my daughter’s future was in my hands, so I got to work,” Cartledge wrote. “I worked hard while pinching pennies to pay off tens of thousands in debt and saved up to invest in real estate. Along the way, I learned the power of good debt, which helped me buy my fitness center. Since then, I’ve opened multiple other businesses and expanded the gym into new communities, sharing wellness in places that need it most.”
Cartledge wrote that her two personal passions are Get Fit Yelm’s annual Earth Day spring cleanup, where staff and volunteers pick up trash along the roads, and its annual giving tree.
“Our members donate so much to the holiday event that we usually have to refill tags on our tree multiple times and then run out of space for all the toys,” she wrote.
To view the full South Sound Business 40 Under 40 list, visit https://tinyurl.com/ebzcj9dt.
