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What do basketball, chocolate and dinosaurs have in common?  For Eastern Illinois alumnus Mark Tarner the three have been a sweet symphony that have helped shape his life.

Tarner grew up around the food industry and played basketball for the Panthers in the infancy of the program's move to the NCAA Division I level.  Currently he serves as the President of The South Bend Chocolate Company located in South Bend, Indiana.

"I was always involved in this type of field," Tarner said.  "My father was always in the food business.  He owned a grocery business and later a chocolate factory."

Tarner began working in his father's candy company and in 1991 branched out to start The South Bend Chocolate Company as a secondary business.  In 1994 he jumped in fully and has watched his company expand across Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.  In that time he has kept that passion alive for building his brand.

"The constant activity, the daily challenges and intense competition with other companies is my true love.  I chose to be a chocolate maker after working with my father at his candy company."

Ironically it was sports that helped Tarner and his company get its first big break.  The company got its starts making chocolates under a license from the University of Notre Dame with its first three products named – Domer, Rockne and Nuts for ND.  Today it has licensing agreements with several universities.

A native of South Bend, where he attended Clay High School, it was athletics that brought Tarner to Eastern Illinois playing for Coach Rick Samuels on the Panthers first team at the NCAA Division I level during the 1980-81 season.

"I really enjoyed the campus at EIU.  The class room experience and game day atmosphere drew me here."

Tarner played in 16 games that first season scoring a season high 13 points in a win over Roosevelt University.  In addition to basketball he was also active in team handball traveling to play in Taiwan and at the 1982 National Sports Festival in Indianpolis.  Injuries hampered his playing career as he appeared in just six games his senior season but did have nine points in a win over IUPUI in the final weeks of his career. 

It was the bonds formed in those early days of NCAA Division I basketball that Tarner remembers when he looks back at his EIU playing days.

"Former head coach Rick Samuels was a super role model for myself and my teammates.  He inspired us to win every day, both on and off the court."

Tarner earned both a bachelor's and master's degree from EIU finishing his academic studies in 1985.  He was able to use his success in the classroom and tools learned as a student-athlete to succeed in the business world where he has won numerous awards for Business Success and Entrepreneurship. 

"As a student-athlete you are forced to be well organized and to maximize your day.  This pressure forced on a young person is similar to those stresses and demands required to be a successful businessman."

The fact that he oversees a company that owns 22 stores along with several franchises, the Chocolate Café', and a factory and chocolate museum where more than 6,000 pounds of chocolate are produced on a daily basis could easily place stress on a person.  For Tarner he views those items as a love.

"My favorite moments on the job are from the time I get to work until the moment I get home.  I truly love my job."

Another love for Tarner and one he has had recent success in, is his hobby of serving as an amateur paleontologist.  Yes, he digs up dinosaurs in his spare time.

"As unbelievable as it sounds, I excavate and collect dinosaurs."

Tarner had recent success in the spring of 2012 as he helped unearth the skeleton of a dinosaur in Baker, Montana.  The more than two-year project helped find a fossilized duck-billed dinosaur, thought to be an Edmontosaurus.  It was discovered with much of its skin intact making it one of just four similar dinosaurs ever discovered with a substantial amount of fossilized skin.

From his days covering the hardwood in Lantz Arena, to his career of creating chocolate, to his passion for uncovering dinosaurs; former EIU basketball player Mark Tarner has indeed lived a sweet life.