In 2008 Neil took his place at the reigns of the family company. The company history is long and gloried. In 1845 Texas became the 28th state of the United States. President Polk sent General Zachary Taylor (later President) to Texas with a force of 3,000 men to defend the new South border from Mexico. Our great, great, great grandfather, Charles Arden Russell was one of the 3,000. In 1846, he retired from the Army and became a deputy surveyor on the Texas frontier. Six generations later, we are still surveying and engineering Texas. Atkinson Engineers is the oldest surveying firm in Harris County. We have surveys in our office from the mid 1800s. Surveying has been a family heritage with a commitment to excellence for 6 generations and over 150 years. Atkinson boys for generations have been taught from the earliest ages the Atkinson Way to survey with a zero tolerance for errors. Our largest clients have kept using us through multiple generations.