DANVILLE — Saleema Ahmad enjoyed her 13 years of service with the U.S. Army, spending three years in the Army Reserve, followed by 10 years of active duty.

But in 2002 she felt it was in the best interest of her two children to return to her hometown of Danville, where they could be surrounded by dozens of family members.

“I have such a wonderful support system in Danville, with so many family and friends living nearby,” she said.

Her children are Khallid, 14, who will be starting eighth grade this fall at South View Middle School, and Taliah, 10, who will be in fifth grade at Cannon Elementary School.

“I wanted my kids to grow up in Danville just like I did,” Saleema said. She is a graduate of Tilton Elementary School and Danville High School.

The Ahmad family lives in the same house as Saleema’s grandmother, Delores Phillpott, who spends a lot of time with them. Phillpott has worked as a beautician for 40 years and still takes an occasional customer.

“One of our favorite things to do together as a family is play Scrabble,” Saleema said. They play by the official Scrabble dictionary, and her grandmother wins most of the games hands down.

Saleema was trained as a medical specialist and then as an eye tech specialist when she was in the military. She worked at a number of different military bases where she helped to assist the ophthalmologists in surgery.

“I am so blessed to have those eye technician skills,” she said, “because I found a job that I dearly love when I came back to Danville.” For the past six years she has worked as an optician at Chittick Family Eye Care.

Saleema likes the variety in her job, and she rotates among the Chittick offices in Danville, Rantoul, Hoopeston and Savoy.

She is a “people person” who genuinely enjoys helping her customers to find the proper eyewear. She also adjusts glasses and processes patients’ insurance.

“One would be surprised how many types of eyewear are out there,” Saleema said. Examples she cited include “ground view advantage” glasses for golfers, sports goggles, safety glasses, anti-fatigue glasses for people who work on the computer all day, and non-glare glasses for night time driving.

She also educates patients on the importance of wearing polarized sun protection. Because she’s been at Chittick longer than any of the other opticians, Saleema frequently trains the new employees.

“This is the work I love to do,” Saleema said. She especially enjoys serving some of the people from her past, including former grade school teachers, the school librarian, and her former Brownie scout leader — all patients at the eye clinic.

“I never know who will walk through Chittick’s door,” she said. “I just love seeing people who I haven’t been in touch with for years, and usually they come back for repeat visits. After six years I’ve developed quite a following.

“I encourage everyone to visit Chittick Family Eye Care’s Facebook page,” Saleema said. “You can learn a lot about your eyes and eyewear from this site.”

Her picture was recently posted on the site as “Staff Pick of the Week,” based on her congeniality and customer service.

Patricia McGee of Danville is a Chittick’s patient, and she makes it a point to request Saleema’s services whenever she visits the clinic.

“Saleema is outstanding in her job and always pleasant and dedicated,” McGee said. “She has spent hours with me, trying to make each and every experience perfect.”

Family time

Taliah is a high honor student at Cannon School and is in the Scholastic Bowl competitions. In addition to being a cheerleader for the Danville Bears, she plays the violin and has performed in recitals since the second grade. She also likes to run track and she is helping with a play presentation at Laura Lee Fellowship House.

Both kids spend time at Lincoln Park and Winter Park, and they swim at Garfield Pool. They all like to play games on their Wii, and Saleema is partial to Wii Fit.

Khallid is especially talented at art, and he wants to work with computers someday.

“There’s a lot of good stuff to do here in Danville,” he said, “and I have a lot of friends in the neighborhood.”

He also attends the “Lights Out” after-school program at South View.

Saleema is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in general education from Eastern Illinois University and plans to start classes again in January.

She likes to cook when she has the time, and her favorite dishes to make are tilapia, salmon, and asparagus with lemon.

The Ahmad family regularly attends Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church in Danville, along with Saleema’s grandmother.