Today Steve Sansweet posted a blog entry regarding Disney preparing new Star Wars merchandise for its stores.

While reading it, this popped out at me:

“With the merchandise being developed, it became the job of Jonathan Storey, a 22-year Disney Store veteran, to prepare the Stores and the Cast Members. It was a task that the vice president of Stores for North America took on with relish, since he’s been a huge Star Wars fan and major collector since his childhood growing up in the small seaside town of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England.

“He’s also a kindred soul, believing like me that Star Wars merchandise played a huge role in making the franchise the cultural phenomenon that it is today — one celebrated by three generations of fans. “The movie was ahead of its time, but it was actually the toys that gave Star Wars its staying power,” Storey says. “I had nothing else to keep it alive, so I played out every conceivable story line. As a child, I think I rescued Princess Leia at least a thousand times.”