Mr Newman stood down at the October annual meeting, after 13 years' service.
In accepting the role, Mr Feehly paid tribute to Mr Newman's dedicated service to the association.
Born in Arrowtown, Mr Feehly has family ties to the town dating back to the 1860s, but has lived elsewhere for most of his life.
He and his wife, Bev, moved back to Arrowtown more than four years ago and Mr Feehly now trains Air New Zealand pilots part-time.
Mr Feehly said he was keen to grow the AVA membership from its base of 180 and continue its primary objective, serving the needs of the village as a whole.
Newly elected vice-chairwoman of the AVA is fellow Arrowtown resident Jude Gillies, a former Otago Daily Times and Queenstown Times journalist.
