There are award winners, and then there’s Adam Henderson. The Dallas-based editor has not only seen work he’s cut for agencies and clients win advertising awards, but he’s pocketed a major one on his own, one with a $25,000 prize. And now he’s bringing the talent, passion and drive that earned him that bucket of cash to Treehouse Edit. Henderson’s signing was announced by Treehouse founder and editor Peter Tarter and EP Jeremy Besser. 

Joining from Post Op in Dallas, Henderson has been editing since he joined the company in 2009 as an assistant. His reel includes spots in a range of styles for such clients as Motel 6, Hyundai, Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, H-E-B, The Home Depot, and Poo-Pourri, the ‘before you go’ toilet spray marketed in cheeky ads and web shorts.

A major highlight came last year, when he entered Adobe’s “Make the Cut” contest. It called for entrants to take the music video for Imagine Dragon’s pop anthem “Believer” and re-imagine it, using nothing but Adobe Creative Cloud products. The competition received over 9,000 entries, and Henderson’s won.

To present the prize, Adobe pulled a fast one: they flew him to their headquarters in San Jose, Calif., and said he was one of the finalists, but when he arrived they surprised him with the news that he’d won, delivered by the band members themselves in a personal video made before his arrival. He was presented with a giant check (a $25,000 prize) and cheered by hundreds of Adobe employees. 

While Henderson has nothing but praise for his time at Post Op, he added it was time to move on. “You can get too comfortable after a while, and I needed to be a little vulnerable in order to grow,” he offered. “Treehouse is a well-respected company that’s making a huge dent in the Dallas post community. Everything about them is positive, from their work to their vibe to their social media presence.”

Henderson met Tarter several years ago, and the two stayed in touch. “He’s a young, hip, very cool kid who was teaching me things technically,” Tarter admitted. “It was such a pleasure to talk with him. When we finished our recent build-out, we wanted to fill our new edit suite with someone who would complement our already great staff, and Adam was a natural choice. He really gives our bench an added layer of depth.”

Besser said that beyond Henderson’s qualifications--which includes his reel, his work ethic and his client relationships--the fact that he conquered all in “Make the Cut” speaks volumes about his character: “He’s exactly the type of person you want in your company, and that’s why we were so interested in signing him.” Added Tarter, “That was a hell of a task, and he came in first. He outwitted, outshined and out-edited everyone.”

Henderson’s joining Treehouse is the crowning part of an ongoing expansion that’s seen the studio open new rooms and add additional creative staff in recent months. Most recently, sr. engineer Eric Jenkins joined in February to lead Treehouse’s new audio post capabilities.